


Duality of Love

by Capnii



Series: Kazukibou [5]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Drama, F/M, Fan Characters, Fan Children, Next Generation, relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-03-31 08:29:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 29,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13971234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Capnii/pseuds/Capnii
Summary: Natsumi, the daughter of Fuyuhiko and Peko, has met who might be the man of her dreams. Kazuki, the son of Makoto and Kyoko, is suspicious about this boy. At the same time, he's dealing with trying to talk to his own crush.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been planning this story for about a year now. I'm really nervous about posting it. I hope you guys enjoy. Thank you.

White Day was highly anticipated by almost all the female students in the new Hope’s Peak Academy. They eagerly awaited gifts the boys would give to them as a symbol of love, but nobody wanted a gift more than Natsumi Kuzuryuu. Even though she had only handed out chocolates for her friends on Valentine’s Day, she couldn’t help but wish a handsome boy would come and gift her chocolate.

 

Since she’d flipped her calendar to March, all she could think about was White Day. She daydreamed about all the different scenarios she could be put in. Such dreams involved finding a gift and letter in her locker containing  a request to meet by the school fountain, or a boy presenting her with flowers on the way to school. The craziest of her fantasies involved someone having a school assembly just to confess his love for her. Indeed, Natsumi Kuzuryuu was a hopeless romantic.

 

Though the school day was over, and she hadn’t received any gifts of love, Natsumi wasn’t ready to lose hope. Her dad once told her: if she wanted something so bad, she had to work hard for it. She decided she’d lure a boy her way as if she were a mythical siren. Next to her good looks, Natsumi thought her best asset was her singing voice. As she stood in the music room practicing her vocals with her fellow choir club members, her voice was the loudest, and most energetic. Her plan was to bank on someone passing by the room and falling in love with her voice. Her fellow club members thought something else.

 

“Someone is in a better mood than they usually are,” a club member said to Natsumi. “Could it be that something good happened to our Natsumi?”

 

Natsumi immediately cut off her singing. “What? Oh, no, not yet,” she replied.

 

“You’re singing louder than usual,” another girl said. “How could something not have happened?

 

“Spill it, Natsumi! Did a boy give you chocolate?”

 

Natsumi bit her tongue. “Well, er, not really.”

 

“Not really?”

 

“Okay, well technically, Kazuki gave me a box of chocolate, but he just did it ‘cause I gave him friend chocolate on Valentine’s Day.”

 

“And there you go talking about Kazuki again,” giggled the first club member. “When are you going to admit you love him?”

 

Natsumi laughed nervously. “I don’t love him.”

 

“You could have fooled us,” a boy said from across the room. “We always see you standing with him. Sometimes you’re so close to him it looks like you’re about to kiss him.”

 

Natsumi began to blush. “That’s just ‘cause I like to tease him about how much of a loser he is with girls!”  


“Didn’t a first-year confess to him two weeks ago?” someone asked. “Doesn’t sound like he’s a loser with girls if he’s being confessed to.”

 

Natsumi sighed. “Even so, he turned her down. Listen, if I was in love with Kazuki, which I’m not, I’d get turned down too; he has an obvious crush on one of his classmates! Can we just get to work on our songs? We have a concert coming up.”

 

“Just take my advice,” the boy said. “You can deny your feelings all you like, but if you do, it’ll be too late.”

 

Natsumi stuck her tongue out. “I have nothing to worry about.”

* * *

 

 

Kazuki Naegi took a deep breath while he hid in a neglected corner by the school lockers. He thanked the stars his mother had taught him how to sneak around in broad daylight,he quickly checked the time on his phone; his target would still be in her club for another five minutes. His body shook from nerves, and kept him from moving.

 

“Come on, Kazuki,” he whispered to himself. “It’s now or never. Alright. One, two, three!”

 

Kazuki made his way over to the target’s locker,he looked around once more to make sure nobody was watching him. When the coast was clear, he opened the locker, and slipped a shiny box neatly on top of the target’s shoes. He backed away, and slowly began to close the locker. He smiled in relief that his mission had been a success.

 

“Trying to be sneaky, mister detective?” said a coy, familiar voice.

 

Kazuki jumped and slammed the locker shut. He turned around to see his good friend, and kind-of-cousin, Mei Asahina. Kazuki clutched his chest as he felt his heart pound.

 

“Holy shit, you scared me,” Kazuki said while he tried to catch his breath.

 

“A foil box, hm?” Mei asked. “You really went all out even though she didn’t give you anything for Valentine’s Day.”

 

Kazuki adjusted the tie on his school uniform. “I-I just figured she’d enjoy something nice, you know? It doesn’t matter to me if she doesn’t like me. I-I mean I hope she likes me but I would understand why she wouldn’t. So I still got her something, and I thought maybe she’d like a surprise before going home.”

 

“You could have just asked me to put the box in her locker for you,” laughed Mei.

 

“I wanted to face my own nervousness.”

 

“So why you didn’t put your name on the box?”

 

Kazuki’s face turned redder than a rose bush. “Well, I said I don’t know if she likes me, so I didn’t wanna make things awkward. If I find out that she does like me, the next present will have my name on it, I swear.”

 

She patted Kazuki on his back. “Ahh, the son of hope and junior ace detective is just as awkward with girls as everyone else. What joy it must give the common folk!”

 

“Junior ace detective?”

 

Mei led Kazuki out the building. “So what did you get her?”

 

“I saw these really fancy-looking chocolates at a store in the underground mall. They were kinda pricey, so I think that means they should taste really good.”

 

“If only she could know who gave her those delicious chocolates. What is with you Kirigiri detectives and wanting to be mysterious? I mean, you could have given her the gift, asked her out, and she might have said yes.”

 

“I’ll-I’ll tell her eventually!”

 

“Whatever you say, lover-boy.”

 

* * *

 

Once choir practice was over, Natsumi dashed out of the music room. Part of her feared her club members would begin teasing her again about Kazuki. She wanted to linger around to find someone who would compliment her singing, but once she saw that nobody was outside the music room, she wanted nothing more than to go back to her dorm room.

 

 _“Stupid, stupid club members,”_ she thought while she ran. _“I’m not in love with Kazuki. I never will be! I’m not that desperate to get a boyfriend that I would resort to him! I never will, I never-”_

 

Natsumi’s thoughts were interrupted when she was unexpectedly pushed back by someone. She was so lost in her own world, that she wasn’t paying any attention to where she was running, or anyone around her. That didn’t stop her from putting the blame on whoever she ran into.

 

“Hey, you jerk, watch where you’re going!” she shouted. “You think you’re so much better than everyone else that people have to move out of the way for you?”

 

Natsumi looked up at the person who stood in her way. The first thing she noticed, was that he was significantly taller than her, and his chocolate brown eyes were looking directly at her in what seemed to be shock and awe. His hair was short, black, and messy, but the messiness added some charm to him. On his left ear were multiple piercings. His school uniform looked as if it was never worn before today. There was a box resting in his trembling hands.

 

“A-Ah I’m sorry!” the boy replied with a somewhat baritone-pitched voice.

 

“What are you looking at?” Natsumi grumbled.

 

“O-oh! Well, I’m really sorry to stare. It’s just I’m a bit lost. I just transferred to Hope’s Peak, and I was trying to find the music room.”

 

Natsumi pointed behind her. “It’s that way, to your right. You can’t miss it, since there’s a baby grand piano there.”

 

“Thank you, miss...miss…? I’m sorry, may I ask what your name is?”

 

Natsumi blushed. “It’s, um Natsumi...Kuzuryuu.”

 

“Kuzuryuu,” the boy mumbled. “Kuzuryuu Natsumi...”

 

Natsumi gulped. The boy was strikingly handsome, and he seemed to have a rather sweet side of him. To Natsumi, this boy could possibly be a potential date, or even boyfriend. However, her family name was cursed that almost anyone who heard the name would avoid her like the plague. Not many wanted to be associated with a girl whose parents were Remnants of Despair.

 

“You must be proud to have a family name like Kuzuryuu.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“The nine-headed dragon. That's where your name comes from.”

 

Natsumi tucked her hair behind her hair, and giggled nervously. “Of course I know that. My dad would always tell me that so I’d be proud of my name.”

 

“You’re proud, aren’t you? Otherwise you wouldn’t wear that that dragon charm on your choker.”

 

Natsumi involuntarily touched her choker. “Y-Yeah. I am.”

 

“Oh, I’m sorry, I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Takehiko Kurosawa.”

 

Natsumi’s faced flushed a deeper pink. “It’s very nice to meet you. Well, uh, I suppose I should let you go to the music room and-”

 

“Actually, I found who I was looking for.”

 

“What?”

 

Takehiko smiled at Natsumi in a way that made her heart flutter. She had to wonder if he was talking about her. She looked around the hallway to see if there was anything else he could have been talking about.

 

“As I said,” Takehiko continued, “I just transferred to Hope’s Peak. The first time I walked onto the campus, I heard you singing in the courtyard. Your voice was so beautiful, that I had to figure out who you were, and where I could meet you. I asked around, got your name, and found out you’re in the choir club.” He presented the box to her. “I know we haven’t met until now, but I hope you will accept this White Day gift.”

 

Natsumi accepted the box in Takehiko’s hands. She slowly opened it, hoping that this wasn’t some prank or joke set up for her. The last time she had received a love confession, she was beaten to the ground in front of the student body. She kept the smile on her face when she saw inside were white chocolates all in different shapes.

 

“I couldn’t afford much,” Takehiko said, “but I hope you like them.”

 

“This is...really thoughtful,” Natsumi said quietly.

 

“I hope I’m not moving too fast when I say I’d like to take you on a date.”

 

Natsumi’s face had never been redder. She trembled as the word “date” repeated in her head. Takehiko looked so real, so sincere,she begged the gods that this was the real deal. Takehiko was so kind and handsome. He was absolutely perfect.

 

“I accept!” Natsumi squeaked.

 

Takehiko laughed. “Then how about Saturday after class? You live in the dorms, right?”

 

“Yes! F-First floor dorms! My name is on the door!”

 

“I look forward to our date, Natsumi Kuzuryuu.”

 

In that moment, Natsumi Kuzuryuu was so happy, she could die.

 


	2. Chapter 2

If someone could hear inside a Hope’s Peak dorm room, they’d hear Natsumi screeching. If someone were to see inside her room, they’d find the floor dressed in multiple outfits she had thrown. She panicked at the thought that nothing in her wardrobe would be perfect enough for her very first date. Did her outfits look too plain, or too revealing? How much should she show on the first date? What was she even supposed to wear on a first date? How do first dates even work?

 

Takehiko had told Natsumi that he was a movie buff, so their first date would be at the movie theater. She didn’t know if they would be able to talk and get to know each other, so she figured the best time to learn more about him was the walk on the way to the movie theater. However the only way she could go out with him now, was if she found the perfect outfit. With the majority of her clothes now on the floor, she began digging through them once more to find something acceptable. Takehiko was coming to her dorm in ten minutes, and she was running out of time. 

 

In the end, she settled on a short, white dress with a floral pattern at the bottom. Without much time left, she ran into her bathroom to fix up her hair, and apply makeup. Her hands shook so much, she had to skip out on eyeliner. As minutes passed, Natsumi’s heart raced in anticipation for Takehiko to arrive and knock on her door. 

 

When he finally did, Natsumi leapt a foot off the floor. She gave herself a quick pep talk as she straightened up her dress, and combed her hair through her fingers one last time. She threw a jacket over herself in case it was cold. With one last deep breath, she opened the door. 

 

Her face flushed when she saw Takehiko in his street attire. He looked like he was a punk on the outside, and yet Natsumi knew he had to be a sweetheart on the inside. She couldn’t find herself to look at him directly in the eyes. 

 

“You look pretty,” was the first thing Takehiko said to her. Natsumi had replied with garbled nonsense. “Well, shall we get going?” Natsumi could only nod. 

 

* * *

 

“So, um,” Natsumi mumbled while the pair walked to the movie theater, “maybe could you tell me about yourself? What year are you in? Things you like? Dislike? This happened so suddenly that I realized I don’t know a thing about you.”

 

Takehiko looked generally surprised at Natsumi’s questions. “Ah, there really isn’t much for me to say,” he admitted. “Well, I’m a third year. You already know I like movies. I suppose I enjoy reading as well.”

 

“What are your favorite books?”

 

“I like reading about history. I find it fascinating to read about how the world used to be, and how we as humans evolved over time. It makes me think about the world and how we will affect the future of it.”

 

“I suppose that would be interesting to think about,” Natsumi mumbled. “I just think about the present.”

 

Takehiko smiled sweetly. “Well, I suppose there is no time like the present.”

 

Natsumi felt Takehiko’s hand brush over hers, and a chill ran down her spine. She wondered if he was going to try and hold her hand,she wouldn’t mind if he decided to take her by the hand. He was incredibly handsome, after all. However, the idea that Takehiko was playing a prank on her still lingered in the back of her head. Natsumi felt Takehiko’s hand once more, and she swatted it away.

 

“Am I moving too fast for you?” Takehiko asked.

 

Natsumi bit her lower lip. “No, I mean, I’d like to hold hands. It’s just that I want to make sure this isn’t some cruel joke.”

 

Takehiko looked into Natsumi’s eyes with genuine concern. His facial expressions made it look like he was the one heartbroken. “So you’ve been made fun of…”

 

Natsumi nodded with hesitation. “I’m so used to guys pretending they like me, or rumors about me being easy or loose made guys try to go out with me for an easy score. So if you think we can have one date, and think you can take me to a hotel, you have another thing coming, got it?”

 

Takehiko shook his head in disapproval. “You forget I’m new to Hope’s Peak. I wouldn’t have heard any of these rumors, or your past experiences with men.” His eyes lingered away from Natsumi’s gaze. “Men who do that disgust me. They should never mess with a lady’s heart.”

 

Natsumi’s eyes widened. “Do you really think that?”

 

“Of course I do. Listen, Kuzuryuu, as long as I’m here, I’ll be sure nobody ever hurts you again. I know it’s only been a few days since we met, but there’s just something about you that makes me want to protect you, and be by your side at all times.”

 

“Wow,” Natsumi gasped. “Nobody has ever said that to me before.”

 

“I’ll be sure to prove myself to you in any way you like.”

 

Natsumi couldn’t ask how he planned on proving her before she felt a pair of lips against her own. 

 

* * *

 

“So you got the same text I did, hm?” Mei asked Kazuki when they arrived at the courtyard of Hope’s Peak Academy. “What do you think she wants?”

 

“Probably to show off that new boyfriend of hers,” Kazuki replied. 

 

“Boyfriend?” Mei shouted. “This  _ is  _ Natsumi Kuzuryuu we’re talking about, right?”

 

Kazuki nodded. “His name is Takehiko Kurosawa. He’s a third year that recently transferred here.”

 

Mei shrugged her shoulders. “Well, I guess as long as she’s happy, it’s whatever.”

 

Kazuki nodded. “I just wish she didn’t have to show him off right now. I can’t keep my mother waiting too long.”

 

Thankfully, the pair didn’t have to wait much longer. They heard the voice of a cheerful girl, and turned their heads to see Natsumi holding hands with a boy, and walking their way. While Mei looked uninterested, Kazuki couldn’t help but feel something nauseating in his stomach the minute he got a better look at Takehiko. Kazuki couldn’t put his finger on why he had this bad feeling about Natsumi’s boyfriend.

 

“Hey guys!” Natsumi cheered. “I wanted you two to meet my boyfriend, Takehiko Kurosawa! Isn’t he just the most handsome boy you’ve ever seen?”

 

Mei looked up at the boy. “I guess you’re not that bad-looking. You look like you could use a haircut, thought.”

 

Takehiko laughed nervously as he fiddled with his bangs. “Ah, perhaps I should get it trimmed.”

 

“No,” Natsumi whined. “I like it the way it is!”

 

“Then, I suppose I’ll keep it,” Takehiko said with a laugh. “Anything for my queen.”

 

“Did you hear that?” Natsumi squealed. “He called me his queen!”

 

Mei rolled her eyes. “Moved past ‘princess’ and straight to ‘queen’ hm? What do you think of this, Kazuki?”

 

Kazuki’s stomach was still churning. Now that Takehiko was closer to him, he felt as if Takehiko had some sort of aura around him. Was it an aura, or was it something else? All he knew was that there was something about Takehiko Kurosawa that he did not like. He looked at Mei as she seemed to be annoyed with how Natsumi latched onto Takehiko’s arm, and wouldn’t stop talking about him. Mei didn’t look sick to her stomach, and Natsumi looked too lovestruck to notice anything ominous. Kazuki wondered if he was the only one who had this strange feeling. 

 

“Kazuki? Kazuki?” Mei waved her face in front of Kazuki. “Hey, Earth to Kazuki. You okay in there?”

 

Kazuki jumped out of his gaze. “Y-Yeah I’m fine. Listen, I really gotta go. I’ll see you all later.”

 

As soon as Kazuki was out of earshot, Natsumi asked, “What’s up with him all of a sudden?”

 

“I’ve never seen him act like that before,” Mei noted. “He looked as if all the life was sucked out of him.”

 

“Maybe he’s jealous that I’m dating the beautiful Natsumi Kuzuryuu?” Takehiko suggested.

 

Natsumi giggled. “Takehiko, you flatter me too much.”

 

Mei sighed. “If you two are just gonna undress each other with your eyes, then I’m out of here too.”

 

* * *

 

Kazuki sat at his desk in his mother’s private detective agency. He stared at the same page for what seemed like hours. To an untrained eye, Kazuki looked as if he were focus on a very important clue. The truth was he could not focus at all. He tried his hardest to review the known evidence, but he could barely retain any information. He knew the suspect was supposedly male, but hadn’t left any DNA evidence. The victim was...was there one victim, or was this serial murders? Kazuki looked at the information once more. How could he forget there were multiple victims? There was also a missing person report. Did that have to do with the case at hand? Kazuki held his forehead and groaned in frustration.

 

“If you cannot focus tonight, I’d suggest going home,” Kazuki’s mother, Kyoko, suggested. “I can tell something is bothering you.”

 

Kazuki kept his nose in the file. “Nothing is bothering me.”

 

“You’re as good of a liar as your father.” Kyoko took the liberty of using the side of Kazuki’s desk as her chair. “Did something happen at school today?”

 

“It’s nothing.”

 

“If it were nothing, you would be able to focus. You know you can tell me anything.”

 

“...Alright, fine.” Kazuki closed the folder. “It’s about Natsumi’s boyfriend.”

 

“You did say earlier in the week that someone finally took interest in her. Is he bothering you?”

 

“I mean, I’m glad she found somebody, but when I got one look at him, something just erupted in me. There was just something about him that made me feel uneasy. Like he’sbad news or something. ButI was the only person who had that feeling.”

 

Kyoko put a gloved hand on her chin, and audibly hummed while she thought about what her son had just told her. “Kazuki, let me tell you something important. Ever since I was young, I was able to hear what I called ‘the Reaper’s footsteps.’ Whenever I heard his footsteps, I had a feeling death was near. I’d get a knot in my stomach as well when I heard these footsteps, like what you described to me.”

 

“Are you telling me that Natsumi’s boyfriend is going to die?”

 

“Or he is the reaper.”

 

Kazuki bit his lip. “No that can’t be it. I don’t recall hearing any footsteps, and I don’t think it was the feeling of death that came to mind. There has to be another reason why this guy gives me bad vibes.”

 

“A simpler answer is you’re jealous.”

 

“I’m not jealous!” Kazuki shouted. Kyoko glared at him for yelling, and Kazuki sunk into his chair. “I-I said I don’t mind she has a boyfriend. I mean she isn’t bothering me or teasing me anymore.”

 

“Perhaps the jealousy started after seeing her boyfriend.”

 

“Mom, I know what jealousy is, and this isn’t it! Whatever this feeling is, I’m going to figure it out.”

 

Kyoko slid off Kazuki’s desk, and gently ruffled her son’s hair. “Just don’t let it get in the way of your work.”

 


	3. Chapter 3

 

Normally, students were not allowed to enter the main building for Hope’s Peak after dark, but being an official detective, Kazuki had special access to the campus. The only light in the building came from a lone computer screen in one of the labs. On the screen was the face of the school’s artificial intelligence, Alter Ego. Alter Ego let out a yawn that shook the computer’s speakers.

 

“Naegi,” they yawned, “don’t you know what time it is?”

 

Kazuki typed, “Did you forget you can call me Kazuki?”

 

Alter Ego giggled. “I can tell the difference between you and your father, you know. What are you doing here this late anyway? According to your new medical records, you should be-”

 

“I need to look up information on a student,” Kazuki interrupted. “It’s urgent.”

 

Alter Ego pouted. “You know the headmaster doesn’t like it when you go into student files.”

 

“It’s detective work. He doesn’t have a say in it.”

 

“Oh no. Are you telling me the headmaster let a murderer slip into the student body?”

 

Kazuki gritted his teeth. “That’s what I’m trying to find out. I met him today, and something about this student seems off.”

 

Alter Ego frowned. “I really don’t think Headmaster Naegi would allow a student with a criminal record to get into Hope’s Peak.”

 

“Just get me the files for Takehiko Kurosawa.”

 

Reluctantly, the artificial intelligence complied. “Takehiko Kurosawa is a third year student who transferred to Hope’s Peak just last week. He currently resides in the Hope’s Peak dormitory, since his legal guardian lives in a different city.”

 

“Legal guardian? What happened to his parents?”

 

“Records show that Kurosawa’s parents had died in a car accident when he was a small child. His aunt took him in afterwards.”

 

“Tell me about his criminal record.”

 

“Takehiko Kurosawa has no criminal record. He also never got into trouble at his past schools. His grades were perfect until a few months back. According to the headmaster’s notes, Kurosawa transferred to Hope’s Peak as he believed it would help improve his grades.”

 

_ “Yet he’s off dating Natsumi,”  _ Kazuki thought. 

 

“So it looks like the newest transfer student is clean,” affirmed Alter Ego. I hope that calms your nerves about him.”

 

Kazuki hesitated before replying to Alter Ego, “Thank you for your assistance.”

 

“Now get to bed!” they scolded, before they shut the computer down. 

 

Kazuki sat in the dark lab in silence for about ten minutes. Everything he had found out about Takehiko Kurosawa didn’t match up with his intuition. The boy was incredibly kind, and looked as if he had no intention of harming anybody, and yet something about him made Kazuki think death. Kazuki could also tell Takehiko’s romantic feelings for Natsumi were genuine, even if he was too affectionate in public. He had no criminal record, or any records of suspension or expulsion from past schools. Everything he found was in favor of Takehiko Kurosawa being a regular teenager.

 

Kazuki pulled out his cell phone, and looked at the last text he received from Natsumi. She wanted Kazuki to join her and Takehiko for karaoke, so Kazuki could get to know her boyfriend better. He pocketed his phone, and then buried his face in his hands. 

 

“Alter Ego,” he groaned, “how do you expect me to sleep like this?”

 

* * *

 

“You look like hell,” was the first thing Mei said to Kazuki the following day. “Did you get any sleep last night?”

 

Kazuki shook his head. “I had to get information on Kurosawa,” he grumbled. 

 

“It took you all night to get the info?”

 

Kazuki bit his lip. “There has to be something bad about him. There has to be someplace I haven’t looked. Mei, I really think there’s something evil about him. He just has this....this aura that makes me feel like death is coming.”

 

Mei crossed her arms and hummed. “So you have this sixth sense or something that has you thinking that Kurosawa isn’t who he appears to be?”

 

“Mei, you truly are the only one who understands me.”

 

Mei rolled her eyes. “Well, you only met him once. Perhaps your intuition is wrong if you see him again?”

 

“Natsumi did invite me to go to karaoke with them,” he admitted, “but I’d rather not go alone. Mei, can you come along?”

 

“Are you nuts? No way I’m not going just to watch them eat each other’s faces.” Mei took her cell phone out of her jacket pocket, and began typing. “You’ll take Minako.”

 

Kazuki’s face flushed when Mei said his crush’s name. “Can’t you just come instead?”

 

“Nope. You gotta face your fears one way or another. If I have to be your wingman, then I’ll do it.”

 

“Mei-”

 

“Do you realize what I’m doing for you?” she snapped. “You should be thankful that I’m trying to help you date her in the first place since she means a lot to me.”

 

Kazuki sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry, Mei.” Kazuki walked alongside Mei over to the cafeteria for breakfast. “What do you think of Kurosawa anyway?”

 

“My opinion? He’s a sap. All he seems to talk about is how beautiful and wonderful Natsumi is. Then, Natsumi will giggle and they make me want to throw up. If he wasn’t so fixated on her, I think Kurosawa would be a nice guy, even if you think otherwise.” Just then, Mei’s phone buzzed. “Oh, that’s Minkao.” Mei’s smile became a frown. “Oh, she’s busy tonight.”

 

“So that means you’ll come with me, right?” Kazuki asked.

 

Reluctantly, Mei answered, “Well I can’t let you go alone..”

 

* * *

 

 

That night, Kazuki was sure he was going to throw up. In the small karaoke room, Kazuki sat as far away from Takehiko as possible. Mei sat next to him, but her reassurance that everything was fine didn’t help him at all. Natsumi and Takehiko were unphased by Kazuki’s uneasiness, as if they didn’t notice at all. Natsumi would sing her heart out into the microphone, and Takehiko would cheer her on. 

 

“Why did they even invite you if they’re just going to ignore you?” Mei whispered into Kazuki’s ear.

 

“I don’t know,” he whimpered. “I need to get out of here.”

 

Natsumi finished her song, and sat herself onto Takehiko’s lap. He praised her singing, and then kissed her lips. 

 

“I’m sorry,” groaned Mei, “but if you’re going to act like that, then go to a hotel.”

 

Natsumi broke her kiss with Takehiko with a gasp. “Oh! Sorry, Mei…”

 

“I just can’t help myself around Natsumi,” Takehiko chimed. “She’s just so kissable!”

 

“How about taking into consideration about the people around you? Look at Kazuki!”

 

Natsumi looked over at her friend. His head was lowered to where he could touch his lap. If she were close to Kazuki, Natsumi would have been able to tell his entire body was shaking. 

 

“He must still feel bad that he couldn’t get his crush to come with him,” Takehiko said. “Hey, Naegi, it’s okay, I’m sure you’ll get her next time! For now, let’s hang out as friends!” Kazuki kept silent. “I know how much you mean to Natsumi, so I really want us to get along. For starters, you can call me Takehiko. I’d like to call you Kazuki as well.”

 

“Do not call me that, Kurosawa,” Kazuki hissed. 

 

“Did I do something wrong?”

 

Natsumi placed her head on Takehiko’s chest. “No you didn’t do anything wrong.”

 

The sound of the phone ringing in the room was like angels singing for Kazuki. Mei answered the phone, and made sure nobody considered paying for an extension in the room. After she hung up the phone, Mei glared at the happy couple. 

 

“We’re not staying any longer,” she stated. “Kazuki is sick. Are you two that oblivious that you couldn’t figure that out?” She helped Kazuki out of his seat, and lifted his chin to show Natsumi and Takehiko his soulless eyes. “Does this look like a healthy person? Maybe if you got off of each other’s faces, you’d realize.”

 

“Please…” Kazuki begged, “take me home…”

 

* * *

 

 

Natsumi squeezed Takehiko’s hand as they walked back to the Hope’s Peak dorms. Mei’s scolding echoed out in her head, and the guilt wouldn’t stop eating her. She knew Kazuki had a bad feeling about her boyfriend, but she really wanted him and Takehiko to get along. Whenever she’d talk to Kazuki, he’d drop the conversation once Takehiko’s name came up. She saw how horrified Kazuki looked the first time the two met. She knew, and yet she wished they could get along. 

 

“Natsumi,” Takehiko said to break the silence, “everything is going to be okay.”

 

“I’m a bad friend,” Natsumi admitted. “I can’t believe I neglected Kazuki like that.”

 

“You did nothing wrong, my love. You only wanted him and I to be friends. If he can’t accept me as a person, then so be it.”

 

“But we all can’t hang out together…”

 

“We just need to find a way to make Naegi comfortable. Maybe we should work on setting him up with that girl he likes. That should help!”

 

Natsumi squeezed Takehiko’s hand again. “Maybe I should talk to Kazuki about this one-on-one.”

 

“Is it really okay to be alone with a guy that isn’t your boyfriend?”

 

“You don’t trust me?” Natsumi asked. “I’ve known Kazuki for so long, and we wouldn’t ever...I wouldn’t even want to be unfaithful to you, Takehiko.”

 

Takehiko hesitated to answer Natsumi for a while. After they walked a block, he finally answered her. “Call me when you’re back in your dorm.”

 

* * *

 

Kazuki stared at himself in his bathroom mirror for five minutes. He focused on the dark circles under his eyes, and how pale his cheeks were. He was glad to be away from Takehiko, but he still had knots in his stomach. 

 

“There’s no way I could sleep feeling like this,” he grumbled to himself. He heard a timid knock on the door, and had no idea who would be visiting him. Reluctantly, he went over to his door to open it. Natsumi stood on the other side. Her hands fiddled with the ruffles on her skirt, and when she looked at Kazuki in the eyes, she would look away.

 

“Hey, Kazuki,” she mumbled. “I just wanted to see how you’re feeling.”

 

“Like shit,” he said, bluntly. 

 

“If you were sick, you should have said something.”

 

“I didn’t get sick until I saw Kurosawa.”

 

“That doesn’t make any sense. Why don’t you like him?”

 

Kazuki gritted his teeth. Part of him didn’t want to tell Natsumi about the feeling of death that loomed over Takehiko. He saw how happy she was with him, and he didn’t want to ruin that for her. Then again, what if it was her life that was in danger? He started to believe his mother was correct, and that this sickly feeling was his interpretation of that reaper she told him about.

 

“I don’t know what it is,” Kazuki admitted, “but Kurosawa makes me sick. It’s nothing he’s done, and it has nothing to do with you dating him. Whenever he is around, I feel as if someone is going to die.”

 

“Kazuki…” Natsumi looked down at the floor. She didn’t know what to say, or if she should even believe Kazuki’s words. “Takehiko...he wouldn’t hurt anybody, and he doesn’t have enemies. I don’t know why you’d think death is coming. I really like Takehiko, and he likes me back. I’ve wanted something like this for so long.”

 

“I didn’t expect you to believe me,” Kazuki said. “It’s late. You should get some sleep.”

 

When Natsumi walked back to her room, she was surprised to see Takehiko right next to her dorm room. Once he caught sight of her, he ran over to pull her into a hug that lifted her off the ground. 

 

“I missed you so much that I had to come back and see you,” Takehiko said before he planted a kiss on the top of her head. 

 

“But we were apart for about ten minutes,” Natsumi reminded him.

 

“Any time away from you is hell to me,” he admitted. 

 

“Takehiko, I was about to go to bed.”

 

“Then I’ll sleep next to you.”

 

Natsumi laughed nervously. “Uh, don’t you think it’s a little early to be sleeping together?”

 

“I don’t see why not. We love each other after all.”

 

“Takehiko…”

 

“I just want to spend the night with the woman I love. Is that such a crime?”

 

Natsumi bit the inside of her lip. She thought about how Kazuki said how he thought Takehiko was dangerous, and it made her wonder if there really was something her boyfriend was hiding. Yet when he talked to her, held her, and kissed her, she couldn’t believe Takehiko could be evil. She was sure Kazuki had to be wrong about him. She didn’t see any death flags, and nobody else did. Kazuki was only paranoid.    
  


“Just for tonight.”


	4. Chapter 4

Kazuki hated talking to delinquents at school. It seemed no matter what, delinquents either wanted to pick at and toy with his mind, or beat him to a pulp. He didn’t want to go to that one corner on campus where he was sure he’d find at least five students smoking on school property. Yet, he had no choice in the matter. In that corner was someone his mother wanted him to speak to.

 

Thought much to his surprise, this person wasn’t even at the corner the delinquents claimed as their own. He saw the student sitting under a tree by the school fountain. Kazuki knew that student from anywhere with their short black hair, dull blue-gray eyes, and the body language that made them look as if they were bored all the time. The student was reading a textbook, which struck Kazuki as odd. He didn’t know they actually cared about school to study.

 

“Akira Hijirihara?” Kazuki confirmed after walking closer to the student.

 

“Oh, it’s Naegi again,” the student replied without taking their eyes off the book. “What do I owe this pleasure? Have you fallen for me?”

 

Kazuki blushed. “You know very well that’s why I’m not here.”

 

“Right,” Akira sneered. “I forgot for a split-second that you’re head-over-heels for that Suzuki girl. Have you gotten the courage to talk to her yet?”

 

“H-Hey! I’m trying to get you to cooperate with me! I’m working on an important case, and I require your account.”

 

Akira looked up from the book. “Do I  _look_ like a killer to you, mister detective?”

 

“Considering your family background-”

 

“So just because my family name is Hijirihara, that makes me the daughter of the Killer Killer? So if I were, that would automatically make  _me_ a serial killer as well?” He noticed a smirk on Akira’s face. She was messing with him. “So is every Naegi some hope prodigy? Or is every Kirigiri a detective?”

 

“That’s not what I’m assuming!”

 

“Then why are you, a homicide detective, interrupting my precious free time with questions regarding a case? Seems suspicious to me.”

 

Kazuki crossed his arms and sighed to calm himself down. “Most of the victims in this serial case have multiple things in common. There’s always a single stab wound in the heart, dealt by a rather delicate and thin blade. Plus, the victims seemed to have been despair cultists.”

Akira snickered. “And there it is, the reason you’ve come to me. You say you weren’t assuming I was the culprit, and yet you just admitted that you think I’m behind them.” Akira shook her head. “Tisk tisk, mister detective. I thought you were better than this. Too bad for you, I have a clear tight-alibi.”

 

“And that is?”

 

“The murders happen at night, yes? You can look at the dorm hallway security cameras and find that I go into my room, and I don’t leave until morning. I like to get my ten hours of sleep every night, you know.” Akira bookmarked her place in the textbook, and then stood up. “Though what you said about the victims being despair cultists interests me. Wasn’t the cult destroyed before you and I were even thoughts?”

 

“They’re still around,” Kazuki reminded. “Just in smaller numbers and they hide in the shadows.”

 

“Wouldn’t you prefer they drop dead anyway? The less of them to cause trouble, the better, am I right?”

 

Kazuki shook his head. “We’re supposed to rehabilitate them. Killing never solves anything.”

 

“Spoken like a true Naegi.” Akira laughed more. “Of course I can’t help but wonder about these murders.” Akira’s grin grew wider. “What if it’s an inside job, and one of their cult buddies is killing ‘em?”

 

“No evidence of that yet.”

 

“No evidence of it being an outside job either, right? Ace detective Kazuki Naegi has yet to narrow a suspect on serial killings! Priceless!”

 

Kazuki turned his back to Akira. “Thank you for your...cooperation, Hijirihara.”

 

“Come back and visit me at any time, detective!” With his hands in his pocket, Kazuki walked away from the grinning Akira.

 

Almost as if fate was not on Kazuki’s side, he felt that sickening feeling in his stomach once more. He looked up to see Takehiko Kurosawa walking blissfully towards him. Kazuki wanted to bolt like a subway, and yet he found himself unable to move his feet.

 

“Hey, Naegi!” Takehiko called out. “It’s great I found you!”

 

Kazuki bit down on his bottom lip to remind himself that Takehiko’s death aura hadn’t sucked the life out of him. “Shouldn’t you be joined at Natsumi’s hip?” Kazuki hissed.

 

“You sound like you’re jealous!” Takehiko implied. Kazuki glared at the boy’s soft features. “I’m kidding. Natsumi told me about this huge crush you have on another girl. Ha, thank god you do otherwise I’d be the one jealous!”

 

“What do you want?”

 

“Oh, right. Well, Natsumi is at choir practice, and I was just about to see her sing. I saw you, and thought that we didn’t hit it off too well before. You’re a really cool guy, and I’d like it for us to be friends. How about we all go bowling together? I heard your crush couldn’t make it to karaoke, so maybe I could ask her to go with you! Women call me a charmer, so she’ll have to say yes!”

 

“I decline,” Kazuki replied. “I have work to do.”

 

“Aw, come on, Naegi. You’re a teenager! Live like one and have some fun with friends!”

 

“I take pride in being a detective, Kurosawa.”

 

When Kazuki pushed himself past Takehiko, he felt a cold chill run down his spine, as if Death’s icy hand was reaching out to him. Kazuki remembered what his mother said to him about the reaper’s footsteps. He wondered what she would feel if she were to go near Takehiko.

 

In an instant, all the bad feelings from Takehiko went away when Kazuki saw the figure of a pretty girl. She walked alongside a few friends who were significantly taller than her. She had long, light brown hair that sparkled in the sunlight, and her eyes were as golden as the sun. Every single day, Minako Suzuki’s presence makes Kazuki’s heart flutter. He watched her from afar, and relished in her breathtaking smile, and her laugh that sounded like an angel.

 

 _“If only,”_ he thought.  _“If only I had the courage to talk to her.”_

 

* * *

 

Kazuki was supposed to go to the detective agency, yet he stood in front of the headmaster’s office. His hands trembled as he knocked on the door. The cheery voice on the other side of the door that told him to come in made him shake even more. Kazuki had no idea how a voice could be so welcoming, yet intimidating at the same time. Kazuki took a deep breath and opened the door.

 

His heart pounded like a drum. He knew his father would be ecstatic to find out Kazuki had come to ask him for advice, though Kazuki wasn’t really sure just how helpful his romantic advice would be.

 

“Kazuki!” Headmaster Makoto Naegi exclaimed. “Wait a minute, aren’t you supposed to be with Kyoko right now?”

 

Kazuki closed the door, and made his way over to Makoto’s desk. “I told Mom I was going to talk to you, and that I’d be late,” he admitted. “Dad I…” Kazuki swallowed his pride and admitted, “I need your advice talking to a girl.”

 

Makoto’s jaw dropped for half a second before he hurriedly pushed papers off his desk. “Of course, of course! Sit down, Kazuki. I’ll be happy to help!”

 

Kazuki sat down in one of the chairs across from Makoto. He chewed on the inside of his lip. Kazuki wasn’t sure how to even start a conversation like this. He already was taught about the birds and the bees multiple times, but never about the butterflies in his stomach that a girl could give him.

 

“I was wondering when you’d come to me for advice,” said Makoto. “I’ve noticed the way you look at one of your classmates. Ah, it was the same look I had with my first love.”

 

“You knew?” Kazuki shrieked.

 

“You don’t hide your emotions as well as your mother,” Makoto said with a smile.

 

“I didn’t come here to get picked on,” Kazuki grumbled. “Can you just help me figure out what to say?”

 

“I’ll give you the same advice that Byakuya Togami gave me years ago when it came to your mother.”

 

Kazuki raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “What’s that?”

 

“You walk up to her, and say ‘Be mine!’ It’s that simple!”

 

Kazuki felt his heart sink to the depths of his body. “And did you say that to Mom?”

 

“Well, no. Though one time I told her in English that I liked her and wanted her. Though that was from a book regarding things girls want to hear.” Makoto laughed for a good minute before he regained his composure. “All jokes aside, Kazuki, everything starts by just saying hello. Maybe let her know that she looks nice today. Perhaps you could ask her to study with you in the library.”

 

“You make it sound so easy,” Kazuki grumbled.

 

“Well, I am a happily married man with two beautiful children. If I can get someone like your mother to fall in love with me, I’m sure you can get a sweet girl to go out with you.”

 

A small smile cracked on Kazuki’s lips. “Thanks, Dad. Suppose I should get going and-”

 

“Actually, could you stay seated? I wanted to talk to you about something.”

 

Kazuki’s smile faded. “What’s that?”

 

“It’s about you going through student documents without my permission.”

 

“Uh, um, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

Makoto shook his head. “You forget I know whenever you log into the school’s database. Kazuki, I gave you access to the files for whenever someone is under investigation. I know you and your mother were suspicious of Akira Hijirihara, but you didn’t look into her file that one night. Instead you looked at,” Kazuki paused to check the note on his computer, “Takehiko Kurosawa, a newly-transferred student. Are you not confident in my abilities to accept students into the academy that I’ve ran for years? Or is there something you know that I don’t?”

 

Kazuki’s stomach tied into complex knots that he was sure would never be undone. It’s not often his father would be the one making him feel guilty for his actions. “I…” he mumbled, “I don’t have proof yet, but I think Kurosawa is bad news. Every time I see him, he makes me sick. He makes me feel like death is coming. I had to figure out if he had a criminal record or something.”

 

Makoto leaned back in his chair and put his finger on his chin. “Kyoko did mention you were having that issue. He’s dating Natsumi, right? How is that going for her? I’m sure her dad must be thrilled to know she’s found a nice boy.”

 

Kazuki winced when Makoto called Takehiko nice. “She’s...happy. Even though Kurosawa clings to her more than seran wrap.”

 

“When you say something like that, it makes me think you’re jealous.”

 

“I’m not!” Kazuki snapped. “There’s something about Kurosawa that makes me on edge, and I’m going to figure out what it is.”

 

“Well, when you figure that out, let me know. I’d like to make sure all my students and faculty are safe.”

 

Kazuki nodded. “Of course.”

 

“Oh, and one more thing. Have you been taking your-”

 

“Yes, Dad,” Kazuki interrupted.

 

“I was just checking. I worry about you.”

 

“I’m fine, Dad.”

 

Makoto smiled softly. “Alright. I trust you. Now that everything is settled, you’re free to go. Tell your mom I love her.”


	5. Chapter 5

During the late hours, the Hope’s Peak dormitories were quiet. Most students were either studying or sound asleep. Any student walking in the hallways were courteous to others, and kept their talking to whispers. Unfortunately one night, someone wasn’t that courteous.

 

“Get out!” Natsumi shrieked while she shoved Takehiko out of her dorm room. She attempted to slam the door on him, only for him to push the door back.    
  
“Natsumi, please!” Takehiko begged. “I didn’t mean to-”

 

“Yes you did!” She pushed harder on the door. “I told you I didn’t want to, and you- Let go of the fucking door!”

 

“Natsumi, I’m sor-”

 

Natsumi used her entire body weight to force her door closed. Before Takehiko could attempt to open the door, she switched the lock. Natsumi slid to the floor and curled herself up into a ball. Takehiko repeatedly knocked at her door. When she didn’t answer, he began calling her phone. Natsumi’s ringtone was like nails on a chalkboard to her, and she was sure he wouldn’t stop calling her until she answered. She got up, stormed to her phone, and ripped the battery out. Takehiko didn’t leave her alone until fifteen minutes later. Natsumi barely got any sleep that night. 

 

Takehiko approached Natsumi on the way to school the next day. Natsumi’s immediate reaction was to walk faster to get away from him. She screeched when he caught up to her, and grabbed her by the shoulder.    
  


“Natsumi!” Takehiko gasped. “Please, just give me five minutes.”

 

“Don’t touch me!” she shouted as she yanked Takehiko’s hand off her. “It starts with the shoulder, and then who knows where you’ll put your hands!”

 

“I’m really sorry about that, Natsumi! Please, you have to forgive me!”

 

“I told you I wasn’t ready! I told you, and yet you still did that! I have every right to be furious with you!”

 

“I know, I know. You aren’t going to break up with me, right?”

 

Natsumi sighed. “...No I’m not. As long as you learned your lesson.”

 

“I’ll try to slow down for you, my queen. I love you.”

 

“I...I love you too.”

 

While the rest of the day wasn’t bad for Natsumi, things were only going to get worse the next day. Not even halfway through the school day, Natsumi shut her phone off. At first the few text messages from Takehiko were endearing. He apologized once again from the previous night, said he loved her, and had mentioned plans to make it up to her. She had sent him one text with a heart, and left her phone in the pocket of her blazer. Then, it seemed like every ten minutes, her phone would vibrate. With how much her phone went off, not only was she distracted, but also the students that sat next to her. After the eleventh time her phone buzzed, she shut it off, but not before she saw she had about thirty new messages. 

 

“What the fuck?” she whispered. 

 

After class, Natsumi turned her phone on, and walked out of the classroom in preparation to read what now was over one hundred new messages. Before she could even read the first message, she was thrown into the arms of someone. She screamed for help, and then looked up to see Takehiko squeezing her. 

 

“I missed you all day, darling!” Takehiko said with glee. Natsumi could hear the mumbled jeers of her classmates. “Did something happen to your phone? How come you didn’t text me back?”

 

“I was in class,” Natsumi said, deadpan. “Don’t blow my phone up like that. If I don’t text back, I’m busy.”

 

“Sorry.” Takehiko kissed the top of her head. “I just hate not talking to you. But now we have all evening together.”

 

“Takehiko, I have choir practice.”

 

“I know. I’m going to watch you like always.”

 

Natsumi hesitated. “Well, the club members would prefer it if you weren’t there today.”

 

“They hate me.”

 

“No, no it’s not that! It’s just that non-club members can be distracting, and we gotta make sure we’re our best for our next concert. You know, you could join a club too…”

 

“I’ll join your fanclub.”

 

Natsumi sighed. “I gotta get going.” She stood on her toes to kiss her boyfriend, and then wiggled out of his arms to get to the music room. 

 

After Natsumi finished rehearsal, she stayed late in the music room. She stared at what she felt like an endless array of text messages from Takehiko. Some were generic, such as how class was boring, he missed her, he loved her, and he couldn’t wait to go on their next movie date. Some were stranger, such as where he admitted that a girl in his class wanted to have sex with him, but he refused, and told the girl how much in love he was with Natsumi. 

 

“What the fuck is going on with him?” she whispered. 

 

“Trouble in paradise?” asked a choir member. 

 

Natsumi looked to see that the girl had been looking over her shoulder, reading the text messages. The girl sat next to Natsumi. “Sorry about looking at your messages, but you’ve looked trouble all rehearsal. Your boyfriend seems...possessive.”

 

Natsumi nodded. “He’s always kind of been this way, but it feels like he’s gotten worse all of a sudden. I already told him to stop texting me so much.”

 

“Kurosawa is your first boyfriend, right? If you think it won’t work out between you two, that it’s okay to break up with him.”

 

Natsumi hesitated to answer. “I...I mean he isn’t hurting me physically or mentally. He’s just…”

 

“Overbearing?”

 

Natsumi nodded. “Yeah. It’s like I’m his entire world and nothing else.”

 

“Before you met him, wasn’t that what you wanted in a boyfriend?”

 

“I guess,” mumbled Natsumi. “If this is what having a boyfriend devoted to you is like, then I regret saying it.”

 

“Then break up with him!”

 

“Maybe...maybe he’ll change.”

 

“You say that, but he’s outside the music room right now, waiting to pounce on you.”

 

“He’s what?”

 

Natsumi and the choir member walked out of music room, and sure enough, Takehiko was waiting. He threw Natsumi into a hug and kissed her head.

 

“Just think about what I said,” the other girl reminded Natsumi. “Good luck.”

 

After meeting up with one another, Natsumi and Takehiko walked to the arcade together. Natsumi had mentioned that she always wanted a boy to win her a plush from a crane game, and Takehiko was up to the challenge. Natsumi watched as Takehiko attempted to get the red panda plush she desired so much. Occasionally he would grumble whenever he failed to even grasp the toy, and groan in agony when it would fall out of the crane. 

 

“It’s not really worth that much money,” Natsumi uttered after Takehiko put in what she figured was his tenth coin. “I could just get one at the store.”

 

“You said you wanted me to win this,” Takehiko replied while he focused on getting the stuffed animal. “I’ll do anything for you.”

 

Attention was brought to the couple when Takehiko shouted at the top of his lungs when he finally won the plush. He cradled the plush like a baby as he handed it over to Natsumi. Natsumi squeezed the plush tight. It was so soft, and she didn’t want to let go of it. She began to feel like her relationship with Takehiko wasn’t bad. Sure, he attached himself to her rather quick, but he genuinely loved her. Everybody who was against her relationship was wrong. Her club members were wrong for thinking he was too attached. Mei was wrong for complaining that they were too affectionate in public. Kazuki was wrong for thinking Takehiko could be death.

 

After the arcade, Takehiko took Natsumi to a cafe. He offered to buy her anything she wanted to eat or drink. Natsumi was thrilled, and took the opportunity to pick whatever expensive thing she could get. Natsumi looked as if she were a child in a candy store when her food and drink appeared in front of her. 

 

“Takehiko,” she muttered, “thank you so much for this.”

 

“It’s the least I could do for upsetting you,” he said. “Anything you want, I’ll give to you.”

 

Natsumi giggled. “To think people were worried about me being with you.”

 

Takehiko looked up at Natsumi with surprise. “People are concerned?”

 

Natsumi nodded. “Yeah, like a member of my club said that maybe we should break up.”

 

“The one you walked out with? The one that wished you good luck?”

 

“Yeah, why?”

 

Takehiko smiled. “I was just curious. I didn’t know anyone besides Naegi was against our relationship.”

 

“Kazuki’s just jealous. If he isn’t jealous about you asking me out, then he’s jealous that I’m in a relationship and he isn’t. You know, he told me that apparently you have some evil aura, as if you were the embodiment of death.”

 

Takehiko’s eyes widened. “He sure has a eccentric imagination.” Takehiko took a sip of his soda. “Don’t you worry. We’ll prove them all wrong after we get married.”

 

Natsumi almost choked on her meal. “M-Married?”

 

“Of course,” Takehiko replied. “I want to marry you after you graduate high school.”

 

“Don’t you think it’s early to be thinking about marriage? I mean we haven’t known each other for even a year, and we’re still in high school.”

 

“That doesn’t matter to me. You’re the woman I love, and I want to marry and start a family with you.”

 

“You’re even thinking about kids?”

 

“Of course! You and I would have the most beautiful children, don’t you think? I’d especially love to have a daughter that looks like you.”

 

Natsumi was rendered speechless for a few solid minutes. Sure, Takehiko was sweet, and a great person, but Natsumi had thought she’d date a few more times in her high school career. She wasn’t ready to settle down with anyone yet. She knew she was too young to think about settling down.  

 

“I have plans,” Natsumi finally replied. “I told you, I want to be a famous singer.”

 

“I suppose that means holding off having kids for a while, but we can still get married. I’ve already started looking at engagement rings.” Takehiko chuckled. “I just think of all the jealous fanboys who will cry when I pull you into a kiss in front of the cameras on our wedding day.”

 

Natsumi’s body began to shake. Her stomach churned to the point where she couldn’t eat anymore. Takehiko’s attachment was sweet at first, but could she spend her entire life with him attached to her hip? She imagined herself on stage singing, and all she could hear was Takehiko blurting out how much he loved her, and how nobody could have her but him. She then thought about Mei and Kazuki, the two people who stuck by her since childhood. If she stayed with Takehiko, there was a good chance they’d break off their friendship with her. The choir club would exclude her because Takehiko was too disruptive. Natsumi felt like she was going to vomit at the idea of the only person in her life being Takehiko Kurosawa.


	6. Chapter 6

 

No reasonable human being would be awake at three in the morning, and yet on the second floor of the Hope’s Peak dormitories, there was a room with the lights on. Kazuki laid in his bed with a large book in his hands. Kazuki’s eyes were on the bottom of the page, and yet he couldn’t recall what he had just read. This was the fifth time that had happened to him tonight.

 

“How did you do it, Poirot?” he mumbled to himself. “I feel like I’m at my wit’s end. I want to figure out who has been killing those cultists, but there’s hardly any evidence. I feel like the only way to get more is if another person dies, and I don’t want that to happen. Am I really cut out to be a detective? What would you do if you were me, Poirot?” Kazuki turned the page of his book.

 

There was a gentle knock on Kazuki’s door, which pulled him out of the trance he was in. It was then he finally looked at his phone to check the time. The fact that someone was knocking on his door puzzled him. However, he figured whatever the reason, it had to be important, if not an emergency. Kazuki closed his book and made his way to the door. On the other side of the door was Natsumi, which puzzled him even more. 

 

Before Kazuki could ask her why she was at his door, Natsumi rushed into Kazuki’s dorm, closed the door, and locked it. The pillow and blanket she held in her arms were now placed onto Kazuki’s bed. The sight was surreal to the point where Kazuki believed he was dreaming. Natsumi was wearing a loose tank top and baggy flannel pants. Her hair was a mess, and she wore the glasses she hated so much. Kazuki still stood there in shock as Natsumi now went into his private bathroom, where she put her own toothbrush. He didn’t snap out of his trance until Natsumi tucked herself into his bed, and asked if he was joining her.

 

“Hang on a minute!” Kazuki exclaimed. “Natsumi, what are you doing here?”

 

“What’s it look like?” she grumbled. “I’m moving in.”

 

“Why?”

 

“I can’t stay in my room.”

 

“What about someone else’s room that’s...well not a boy’s room?”

 

“I don’t trust anyone else.”

 

“Well if you trust me, then you should be able to tell me why you’re here in the first place.”

 

Natsumi puffed her cheeks, covered her whole body in blankets, and faced the wall. “I broke up with Takehiko.”

 

Kazuki’s eyes widened in shock. The last time he saw Natsumi with Takehiko, she looked so happy. “What happened that made you break up with him?” 

 

“He was just real clingy and stuff,” she mumbled, still under the blankets. “He wanted to spend every moment with me. He’d always text me in class, and watch me during choir practice. It felt like I couldn’t ever have a moment to myself. Then when we were on a date, he said he wanted to marry me and have kids after I graduate.”

 

“So you don’t want that with him?”

 

“Fuck no!” Natsumi screeched. “So I broke up with him. Then he starts calling me, and texting me, and I see him outside my window, and I think he’s watching me from a distance and god, Kazuki, he’s stalking me! I can’t take it, so I ran here!”

 

“Why not just go home?” Kazuki suggested. 

 

“Takehiko knows where my parents live,” she mumbled.

 

“Your dad is a Yakuza leader and your mom is a swordswoman. They’re practically living home security.”

 

“I can handle this myself!” Natsumi barked. “I don’t want them involved!”

 

“You’re handling the situation by hiding in my room?”

 

“I’m gonna stay here until graduation. Then, he’ll be out of Hope’s Peak and I can live my life. It’s a foolproof plan.”

 

Kazuki rolled his eyes. “Why don’t I just tell him to back off, or get my dad involved?”

 

“I said I’m doing this myself! If you wanna help, you can help me by letting me stay here, and don’t tell anybody that I’m here!”

 

Kazuki sighed heavily. When Natsumi had her sights on something, nobody could change her mind. Kazuki admitted defeat, took his pillow off of his bed, and placed it onto the floor. He took an extra couple blankets from his closet and placed them by his pillow.

 

Natsumi poked her head out of the blankets to see what Kazuki was doing. “Hey, why is your stuff on the floor?”

 

“Because you’re in my bed.”

 

“I thought we were gonna share.”

 

Kazuki’s cheeks flushed a bright pink. “We’re not kids anymore, Natsumi.”

 

Natsumi sighed heavily and laid her back onto the bed. “I know we aren’t kids, and sharing a bed would look like we’re doing it, but I really don’t care tonight. I just need someone to cling onto, and you’re the only person in the room, so I don’t get a choice. I promise I won’t bring it up after tonight. I just...I just really need you right now, as my friend.”

 

Kazuki bit his lip. He could hear in Natsumi’s tone that she wasn’t lying, or had any malicious intent to having him sleep next to her. He wouldn’t have cared about sharing a bed if only she wasn’t a girl, and him a boy. Then again regardless of their bodies, Natsumi was a friend who really needed support, and reassurance that everything would be okay. Perhaps, at that moment in time, the only thing that could help was having him lay next to her. 

 

Kazuki picked up his pillow from the floor. “Just tonight,” he said, “and no funny business.”

 

“Is cuddling okay?”

 

Kazuki’s face grew hotter. “You’re making it sound like I’m your rebound guy.”

 

“You’re not. I promise!”

 

“...Fine.”

 

Natsumi scooted her body to the other side of the bed to let Kazuki get adjusted on the other side. The beds in the dormitories weren’t meant for two people to sleep in, though with how small Natsumi was, she didn’t take too much space. After Kazuki was settled under the blankets, and Natsumi discarded her glasses onto the floor, Natsumi crept closer to Kazuki, and placed her head on his shoulder. Kazuki’s entire body went stiff, and his heart began to race. Never has anyone been this physically close to him before. He could feel her petite body pressed up against him. The worst thing for him was he could feel how soft her breasts were, and he wished Natsumi could have worn something thicker, or at least a bra underneath.

 

“You’re really nervous,” Natsumi said, followed by a small laugh. “You’re heart is beating like crazy.”

 

“I’ve never been this close with a girl before” Kazuki mumbled. “You probably did this with Kurosawa a lot, so you wouldn’t be nervous.”

 

Natsumi hesitated before admitting, “Well, yeah, but he started pressuring me to do more...and I didn’t want to, so I would kick him out of my room.”

 

“Really?” Kazuki asked with honest astonishment. “You two seemed so in love, I would have figured you would have wanted to...well, with him.”

 

“I thought maybe we could, but he...Takehiko just moved so fast and when he said he wanted to, I got scared and said no.” Natsumi chuckled somberly. “Look at me. I’m apparently a big pervert, and yet when given the opportunity, I refused sex.”

 

“Maybe he wasn’t the right guy,” Kazuki noted. 

 

“I guess you’re right.” Natsumi adjusted herself a bit more so she could make more use of Kazuki as a pillow. “Thanks for letting me stay here.”

 

When Natsumi woke up later on in the morning, the previous day had felt like a dream. Her vision was bad, but she could tell this room wasn’t hers. The room smelt familiar, like as if it belonged to a friend. Natsumi squeezed her pillow in content. She quickly remembered she had spent the night with Kazuki in his room. Natsumi realized Kazuki’s warmth was gone from the bed. She reached to grab her glasses. Kazuki wasn’t in the room at all. Natsumi crawled out of bed and walked over towards Kazuki’s work desk. Next to his laptop was a container of food, and a note from Kazuki. 

 

_ “Natsumi, I managed to get some breakfast for you at the cafeteria. I’ll try to be back by lunch. I didn’t see if you had your cell phone on you, so I left my laptop unlocked if you want to play a game, or watch something.” _

 

Natsumi looked at Kazuki’s laptop to see that it was, in fact, unlocked. She took a quick look at the time, only to realize she was actually skipping class. Natsumi always thought she’d skip class to go to a theme park, or somewhere else fun. Being stuck in a friend’s dorm room was not a fun time. 

 

While she nibbled on her breakfast, Natsumi did a thorough look of Kazuki’s laptop. With how protective Kazuki was with his electronics, and how they had classified information, Natsumi was surprised he’d leave it open for her. She managed to find his work files, but soon found out they were locked behind a password. Natsumi continued to browse through his computer more. She found a folder marked, “Personal,” and she grinned devilishly when she figured this was where he kept his porn. Natsumi pouted when she found out that file was also password protected.

 

“Damn,” she grumbled. “If I were a professional hacker, I’d be able to see what kind of kinky stuff he’s into.”

 

After breakfast, Natsumi decided to snoop around Kazuki’s dorm. There was nothing fun in the drawers of his desk, so she moved on to his sock drawer. Natsumi groaned at how Kazuki didn’t have any fun-colored socks. At least some of his underwear had color. When she reached to the bottom of the sock drawer, she came across a small box. Her entire body heated up when she realized she was holding a box of condoms. 

 

“I-I should have known, I mean he is a boy,” Natsumi stuttered. “He hasn’t even opened it yet.” She put the box back in the dresser, and covered it back up with his socks.

 

Natsumi then made her way to his closet. She dug through the boxes he had on the floor, and ended up finding a small case. She opened the case to find a hand held video game system, along with a few games. Natsumi pocketed the game, and figured it could entertain her in the future. 

 

The last place Natsumi snooped around in was the bathroom. She doubted she’d find anything interesting aside from what toothpaste he used. She walked in, and immediately groaned at her reflection in the mirror. Her face was blotched, and she was sure she saw dark circles under her eyes. 

 

“At least I don’t have to put on makeup to go anywhere,” she mumbled. 

 

Natsumi opened up the cabinet behind the mirror, and let out a hum when she noticed a pill bottle. She bit her lip, and took the bottle from where it sat. Concern hit her when she realized Kazuki was on prescription sleeping medication, and considering the bottle practically full, Kazuki wasn’t good at taking them every night. 

 

“I always thought he chose to stay up late,” she mumbled. “Does Kazuki really need sleeping pills?” She placed the bottle back in the cabinet, and closed the small door. 

 

* * *

 

Kazuki could hardly focus in class. Not only was he trying to connect the dots for the serial murders, but he also had to deal with Natsumi in his room, and the decision to tell his father that she was there. Kazuki decided after class, he would talk to Makoto.

 

Kazuki went over to the school store to get two boxed lunches for him and Natsumi. He also decided he would not tell Natsumi his plan to tell Makoto about Takehiko. The only way he could get things done was to keep his actions a secret from her. After he paid for the lunches, he was stopped by a first-year student. The student kept her head low, but Kazuki could tell she was distressed. 

 

“Excuse me, Kazuki Naegi?” she mumbled. 

 

“Yes, that’s me.”

 

“Have...Have you seen Natsumi Kuzuryuu? We’re in the same class, and both in choir club. She wasn’t at class this morning, and I thought you’d know where she is.”

 

“Natsumi...is sick.”

 

“I hope she gets better soon. Maybe there’s a bug going around. Another member of the choir has been absent from school too. Haven’t heard from her in a couple days.”

 

“Huh?” Kazuki’s body straightened from the student’s comment. “What’s her name?”

 

“Her name is Tomoko Shimizu. Last time we saw her, she stayed in the music room late with Kuzuryuu, and we haven’t seen her since. She spends so much time out of her room, that it’s odd to not see her. Do you think something happened to her?”

 

Kazuki’s stomach dropped. “I’m sure she’s okay.”

 

On the way back to his dorm, he stopped in front of the missing student’s dorm. He knocked gently, and called the student’s name. There was no reply. He wished he could get into the dorm room in case she locked herself in there. Since Kazuki couldn’t get the key to other dorm rooms, he had to figure out another plan. When nobody came at the door, Kazuki went back to his room.

 

“Hey, I’m back,” Kazuki said to Natsumi as he entered the dorm room. “I brought lunch.”

 

Natsumi, who was watching a video on Kazuki’s laptop, leapt from her seat and snatched the lunch out of his hand. “Nobody followed you, right?”

 

Kazuki shook his head. “Nobody suspicious was after me.”

 

Natsumi sighed in relief, “Oh thank god.”

 

“By the way, I ran into one of your classmates. She was worried about you.”

 

Natsumi’s jaw dropped. “Really? She was worried that I wasn’t in class?”

 

Kazuki nodded. “I said you were sick. She also said another member of the choir club was absent. One Tomoko Shimizu?”

 

Natsumi’s face became pale at the name of her fellow club member. “O-Oh. Maybe she’s actually sick.”

 

“I checked her dorm room, but there was no answer.” Kazuki looked at Natsumi directly in her eyes. His violet eyes pierced right through her. “Should I be suspicious of her being sick?”

 

Natsumi could feel tears forming in the corner of her eyes. She hung her head low, and with trembling lips, she replied, “No.”

 

Kazuki took a deep breath, and looked away from Natsumi. “I see.” The disappointment in his voice was like a dagger through Natsumi’s heart. “I got to get back to class. I’ll see you later tonight.”

 

After Kazuki left, Natsumi burst into tears. 

 


	7. Chapter 7

Once again, Kazuki sat in the headmaster’s office, though matters were more urgent compared to the last visit. Makoto could tell something was wrong with the way Kazuki slouched in his seat, and how his folded hands shook slightly.

 

“This isn’t a pleasant visit,” Makoto said. “What’s going on?”

 

“Nobody had heard from a student in two days,” Kazuki said.

 

“I’m aware of that. I’m going to have a female faculty member unlock her dorm room to see if she’s there. I take it you’re investigating, and came to ask me if I knew anything?”

 

“What happens if she’s not there?”

 

“You think she was kidnapped?”

 

Without hesitation, Kazuki accused, “She was taken by Takehiko Kurosawa.”

 

“The transfer student you looked into?”

 

Kazuki nodded. “Though I don’t have conclusive evidence yet. I found out Tomoko Shimizu wasn’t fond of his relationship with Natsumi, and tried to convince Natsumi to end the relationship. The last time anyone saw her was when she stayed in the music room with Natsumi.”

 

“If you’re saying she was kidnapped, then what if Natsumi is behind her disappearance?” Makoto suggested. 

 

“That’s wrong.” 

 

“Why is that? Kazuki, if you have any proof she isn’t behind this, I need to know.”

 

Kazuki bit his lip. He was already going to tell Makoto that Natsumi was in his room anyway, so why was he nervous in telling him? His father was right, though. As headmaster, he needed to know what was going on. 

 

“Natsumi...is staying in my dorm,” Kazuki admitted. He looked up, and saw Makoto was silent to let Kazuki continue on. “Natsumi showed up in my room last night, said she broke up with Kurosawa. She’s scared of him stalking her, and she decided the only place to avoid him was in my dorm.”

 

“That isn’t how to solve problems,” Makoto said disappointingly. “She should have come to me.”

 

“I told her that, but she won’t listen to reason,” admitted Kazuki. “If she’s afraid of Kurosawa, and we have a missing student that could be linked to him as well, I have every reason to suspect him.”

 

“I’ll let security know to keep a close eye on him. When you find conclusive evidence that he’s behind this disappearance, I’ll expel him from the school, and get the police involved.”

 

Kazuki sighed in relief. “Thanks, Dad. I’ll let you know if anything new comes up.”

 

“Listen, Kazuki.” Makoto got up from his chair and walked over towards his son. He got down on his knee so he could be eye-to-eye with Kazuki. “I understand this is urgent, and a scary situation, but promise me you won’t stay up all night investigating.” 

 

Makoto pressed his thumb on Kazuki’s face, and wiped away a smidge of makeup. Makoto looked as if he were about to cry when he saw the dark circles Kazuki concealed. 

 

“You’re obsessed with being just like your mom, that you gave up sleeping just to study more. Now you can’t sleep even if you want to. You need to take your sleeping medicine every night, Kazuki. If you don’t, you won’t be able to think straight, and your movements will be sluggish.”

 

“I’m...I’m fine,” Kazuki lied. “I’ve been taking my medicine.”

 

“Please take tonight off work and sleep,” Makoto begged. “I’m going to let your mother know you haven’t been taking your medicine, and you need time off. She wants you to be healthy too.”

 

“If I go back to my dorm, how am I going to find out if the student was kidnapped? Or if Kurosawa is guilty? Or who the culprit is behind the cult killings?”

 

“Your mother is working on that last case too,” Makoto reminded him. “As for the missing student and Kurosawa, you can leave that to me.” Makoto kissed his son’s temple. “I love you, Kazuki.”

 

“Love you too, Dad.”

 

Makoto’s concerned expression quickly changed to an ear-to-ear smile. “So should I be concerned that a girl is sleeping in your room?”

 

“What? No!”

 

* * *

 

 

“Goddammit, Mario!” Natsumi shouted at the top of her lungs while she shook the video game violently. “Fucking turtle showed up out of nowhere!”

 

“Watch it,” Kazuki groaned from his desk. “If you break my game, you’re buying me a new one.”

 

“It was collecting dust in your closet, so why would you care if it’s broke?”

 

Kazuki turned to face Natsumi, who was lying on the bed. “You shouldn’t have been looking through my stuff in the first place.”

 

“You’re just embarrassed that I found your box of condoms.”

 

Kazuki’s face flushed red, and he turned away from Natsumi. “You invaded my privacy. Would you like it if I did that to your things?”

 

“Well...no I wouldn’t.”

 

“So I have every right to be upset.”

 

Natsumi sat up and bowed her head. “I’m sorry, Kazuki! I won’t go through your things again while I’m here!”

 

“It’s too late, but I appreciate the apology.”

 

Natsumi turned off the game, and walked over towards Kazuki. “So what are you doing anyway?”

 

“Looking over my case notes.”

 

“Why not put those away, and go get us dinner and rent a movie? I’m bored.”

 

“I really should look over these-”

 

“You’ve been doing that for three hours now!” Natsumi whined. “If you haven’t found something now, you won’t later! Come on, it’s a Friday night! Live like a teenager for once! If I wasn’t confined in your room, I’d be at the movie theater watching that new romantic comedy!”

 

“Nobody is forcing you to stay here,”  Kazuki reminded her. “You’re free to leave my room at any time.”

 

“Come on, Kazuki, let’s have a movie night! Live a little! How often do we get to spend time together anymore? We hung out so much as kids, and you’d be so happy to see me...”

 

It only took one glance at Natsumi’s puppy-dog eyes to make Kazuki submit. He closed his notes, and locked them in a safe before he slipped his coat on. “Alright, you win. What do you want for dinner?”

 

“Oo, can you get curry? I could go for some curry.”

 

“Alright, I’ll be back in a few.”

 

“Yes, sir!” Natsumi flopped back onto the bed, and turned the game back on. “Alright you mutant turtles, this time, I’m serious!”

* * *

 

Kazuki had spent more time out than he expected. He found himself going into a few stores on his way to pick up dinner for him and Natsumi, and then while trying to find what movies to rent, he was stuck contemplating what movies Natsumi would actually like. All he knew was that Natsumi was a romantic. Though Kazuki figured it would be awkward to watch romance films with her. He chose a few movies from different genres, and hoped that would be good enough.

 

On his way back to the dorms, he saw an ambulance speed past him. He didn’t think too much about it at first. As Kazuki walked inside the gates of the Hope’s Peak dormitories, he received a call from his dad on his cell phone. 

 

“Hey, Dad, what’s up?”

 

“Good evening, Kazuki. I just wanted you to know that we found Tomoko Shimizu.”

 

“That’s a relief. She’s okay, right?”

 

“Er...she wasn’t kidnapped but… well we found her unresponsive in her dorm room.”

 

“What?!”

 

“An ambulance just got her. Hopefully she wakes up…”

 

“Let me investigate her room right away!” Kazuki demanded. “I’ll figure out what happened, I swear!”

 

“I told you that I can handle this,” Makoto assured. “I’ve done my share of investigating in the past.”

 

“Just give me ten minutes in her room. I’m begging you!”

 

“...Okay ten minutes.”

 

* * *

 

 

Kazuki’s first impression of the dorm room was it thankfully did not smell like death. Everything in Tomoko Shimizu’s dorm room looked in order. He didn’t see any blood, or signs of struggle. Kazuki looked over to his father, who was discussing something with the police officers. 

 

“What did she look like when she was found?” Kazuki asked as he approached the adults.

 

“As if she were sleeping,” answered Makoto. “Though, her skin was pale, and the veins on her arms were popping out.”

 

Kazuki put his hand on his chin. “Was she breathing?”

 

“Barely.”

 

“She might have been poisoned,” Kazuki declared.  “But if she had the poison in her system since last night, and she was still breathing, it must be a slow-acting poison. If you said she looked like she was sleeping, then perhaps she didn’t even know the poison was in her system when she fell asleep.”

 

“That’s what I was thinking,” said Makoto. 

 

“But what I don’t get is that slow-acting poison is more meant to torture a person before killing them.” Kazuki checked the garbage can, and saw a lone napkin. He checked it and saw there was icing left on it. He wondered if whatever was on that napkin was where the poison came from. “Why use a poison that’s for torture, and leave her alone?”

 

“She’ll get the poison pumped out of her at the hospital,” Makoto reassured. “Once she’s awake, we can talk to her. Your ten minutes is up, Kazuki. You should probably take that curry back to your room before it gets cold, or before I take it for myself.”

 

Kazuki looked at the bags he dropped outside the dorm room. He had completely forgotten about the dinner and movie night Natsumi asked for. “Crap, I forgot,” he muttered under his breath. “Alright, please keep me updated on her status, Dad.”

 

“Of course. Enjoy your night, but don’t enjoy it  _ too _ much.” Makoto smirked at his son.

 

“Dad!” Kazuki whined. “You know it’s not like that!”

 

* * *

 

 

“What took you so long?” whined Natsumi. “I’m starving!”

 

Kazuki set the bags down on his desk. “Should you really be talking that loud when the door is open?”

 

“Shit!” she squeaked as she covered her mouth with her hands. 

 

Kazuki shook his head and closed his door. “You’re not the best at hiding, are you?”

 

Natsumi puffed her cheeks. “You took forever, I thought maybe you abandoned me!”

 

Kazuki handed the curry Natsumi requested to her. “I ran into some roadblocks.”

 

“Like what?”

 

“You know that choir member I asked you about? She was found unconscious in her room.”

 

Natsumi stared down at her dinner. “Is she...dead?”

 

Kazuki shook his head. “We think she was poisoned, but was alive when found. She’s been taken to the hospital.”

 

“I hope they can save her…” Natsumi mumbled. “She doesn’t deserve this.”

 

“Do you know any reason why someone would want to harm her?”

 

“I don’t know…” Natsumi mumbled. “She never did anything wrong.” 

 

“If you say so…” Kazuki knew when Natsumi was lying. Her voice pitch would be higher than usual. She knew something regarding the student, but why she would keep information from him was unknown. If he kept forcing her to talk, she’d keep lying. If Kazuki wanted to get the truth out of her, he needed to change his tactics.

 

“By the way,” Kazuki said while he dug through the other bags. “I don’t know if you have this or not, but on the way to grab dinner, a bookstore caught my eye. The cashier said this was a best-seller.” Kazuki handed Natsumi a hard-cover book. Her eyes widened when she saw the title. She placed her fingers on the hard-cover novel, just to make sure what she was holding was real.

 

“This is  _ Hold My Hand _ !” she gasped. “I’ve been wanting to read this for ages, but every time I try go buy it, it was sold out!”

 

“It looks like a long book, so maybe it’ll keep you busy.”

 

“Oh gosh, definitely! I haven’t read it, but I saw the TV drama! The story is about a high school girl who has had a crush on her childhood friend since grade school. She makes it her goal to be his girlfriend by the end of their first year in high school! The story gets its title because when she and her crush were little kids, they’d hold hands whenever they would walk to school!” Natsumi squeezed the book in her arms. “Oh my gosh, I don’t think I could thank you enough for getting this! I…” Natsumi set the book down in her lap. “You got this for me and I didn’t ask you for it…that was really nice of you…”

 

“I’m glad you like it.” Kazuki then pulled out the movies he rented. “I didn’t know what your favorite movies were, so I picked some I thought we could both enjoy. You can pick the first movie.”

 

“How about the one with the blue cover?”

 

* * *

 

 

“Natsumi…”

 

Natsumi grumbled.    
  


“Hey, Natsumi, you should go to bed.”

 

“No,” she whined. “The movie isn’t over.”

 

“What just happened in the movie?”

 

“Um...the boy met a dragon.”

 

“That was the last movie we watched.”

 

“I don’t wanna go to bed…”

 

“Do you also know that your head is on my shoulder?”

 

“Huh?” Natsumi’s eyes shot wide open and her body sat up straight. Kazuki sat next to her against the bed. The light from the television allowed Natsumi to see just how much he was blushing. “Oh, shit, I’m sorry!”

 

Kazuki couldn’t help the laugh that escaped his throat. 

 

“What’s so funny?” Natsumi growled.

 

“It’s not often I see you flustered. It’s funny.”

 

Natsumi turned her head away from Kazuki. “It’s not funny.”

 

“Come on, Natsumi. You tease me whenever I’m flustered.” Natsumi didn’t respond. “Well anyway, it’s late. You should get some sleep.”

 

“Shouldn’t you go to bed too?”

 

“I’m not tired just yet.”

 

“Why not take one of those sleeping pills you have?”

 

Kazuki looked at Natsumi, shocked. “You...you knew about them?”

 

“Yeah, I found them in your bathroom. Why do you have sleeping pills?”

 

Kazuki hesitated to answer. “I have insomnia. It’s not a big deal.”

 

“It kinda is a big deal! You have insomnia! I thought we were friends, and yet you never told me about this! Why would you not say anything?”

 

“Like how you’re lying to me about what happened between you and Kurosawa?”

 

Natsumi’s body began to shake. “I’m telling you, there’s nothing wrong! I thought maybe he did have something to do with Shimizu, but then I remembered he wouldn’t hurt a fly! Please, you have to believe me!”

 

Her voice was still at a high pitch. Kazuki was sure she was going to continue lying to him. Part of him wanted to believe her, and that her high pitch was her being over-emotional. Internally, Kazuki was frustrated. He wanted to figure out the truth behind Takehiko Kurosawa, and yet the entire world was putting a barrier in front of him. He felt like the entire world was against him. Plus, without any conclusive evidence tying him to the poisoning, Takehiko was a free man. He sighed, and admitted a temporary defeat.

 

“Alright..”

 

That night, Natsumi had the bed to herself. She may have been tired previously, but her small argument with Kazuki had woken her up. Her eyes were fixed on Kazuki, who laid on the floor with his back facing her. She saw him take the sleeping pill, and he hadn’t moved in over ten minutes. 

 

“Are you awake?” Kazuki didn’t respond. “Kazuki?” Again, no response. “That medicine must really work on you.” Natsumi adjusted herself so now she looked up at the wall. “Thank you for letting me stay here, Kazuki. If I asked anybody else, they probably would have told Takehiko where I was as a joke. I knew you wouldn’t do that. I made the right choice staying with you. You really are a good person.” 

 

Tears started to form in Natsumi’s eyes. “I know you can’t hear me right now, but Kazuki. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything.”

 


	8. Chapter 8

Kazuki was still sleeping when Natsumi woke up. After she had apologized to him the previous evening (while he was sleeping), she felt refreshed. When she saw Kazuki shifting, as if he were to wake up, she thought maybe it was okay to tease him a bit.

 

Quickly, Natsumi adjusted herself so she laid on her back. She pushed some of the blanket off her, and slightly lifted her tank top up to her bellybutton. She quickly lowered a strap on her tank top to her shoulder. Last, she puffed her chest up, and closed her eyes to make it look as if she were sleeping. The purpose of this was to get Kazuki flustered at the sight of a pretty girl. Her facade may have been perfect, but Natsumi had trouble hiding the smirk on her face.

 

Kazuki woke up feeling groggy, and his back was sore from laying on the floor. Despite taking his medication, he did not sleep pleasantly. Kazuki stretched his back, and then looked over at the supposed sleeping Natsumi. His face flushed when he saw how she was positioned as she slept. She looked like a sleeping girl right out of some romance movie. Her stomach was exposed, her arms spread out, her chest puffed out. Natsumi’s position did not look natural, Kazuki thought. He stood up and looked at the girl, unamused. He could see the corners of her lips twitching as she hid her smirk. 

 

“You’re not fooling anyone,” Kazuki said before he pulled the blanket over Natsumi.

 

Natsumi’s eyes opened, and she let out a groan. “No fair! Are you at least blushing? I can’t tell; your face is all blurry.”

 

Kazuki turned away from her and walked up to his closet. He grabbed his school uniform, and his favorite blue vest. Before he went into his bathroom to change, he gave the vest to Natsumi. 

 

“You should probably wear that,” he suggested. “I’ve...almost seen you exposed a few times.” 

 

“You don’t wanna see my boobs?” Natsumi whined.

 

“No I don’t. I’ll be back after class.”

 

Natsumi didn’t need to wear Kazuki’s vest while he was gone, but she had decided to anyway. His vest was covered in his scent, and for some reason, it was intoxicating. As Natsumi read her new book, she’d occasionally bury herself under the vest’s hood, and inhale. If she could, she’d wear his vest for the rest of her life. No wonder this vest was his favorite thing to wear, she thought.

 

Natsumi had read one fourth of the book before she took a break. She looked at the time on Kazuki’s computer and saw he would be returning in one hour. Natsumi decided she would look through Kazuki’s computer once more. When she looked at his downloaded videos, only one folder was accessible to her. She opened it and saw it contained a television show dedicated to murder mysteries. Out of curiosity, Natsumi played an episode, then one more, and then another after that. Natsumi kept watching episodes, to where she found herself hooked on the show. Time passed by so quick, she was surprised to see Kazuki enter the room.

 

“I see you’re keeping busy,” Kazuki noted as he looked over at the laptop screen.

 

“This show is fascinating,” Natsumi replied. 

 

“You do know with this show, it’s usually the spouse that does it, right?”

 

Natsumi nodded. “Yeah, but they’re so stupid, they don’t know how to dispose evidence.”

 

“And you know how?” chortled Kazuki.

 

“Well, no. They’re dumb for killing someone anyway.”

 

“If that’s what you think, then there are a lot of dumb people in the world.” Kazuki walked over to his closet, and grabbed the outfit he wore whenever he went to the detective agency.

 

“Where are you going?” Natsumi asked. 

 

“My mother is waiting for me outside the building,” Kazuki replied as he undid his tie. “A body was discovered by the river. I’m not sure what time I’ll be back.”

 

“Good luck,” Natsumi mumbled. When Kazuki had changed and left the room, she said, “Stay safe…”

 

* * *

 

Kazuki winced at the body when the tarp was lifted off it. He saw the body of a girl his age, covered in dirt and mud from drifting in river. It didn’t help that the body smelt of death and fish mixed together. When Kazuki knelt down to investigate the body, he thought he was going to hurl.

 

“If you can’t do it, I’ll handle investigating her,” Kyoko said. 

 

“It’s fine,” Kazuki said while trying not to gag. “I just need a mask or something.”

 

Kyoko knelt down to give Kazuki a mask, which he immediately put on. His hands still shook from the initial sight of seeing a dead body. He felt even worse that it was a teenager who was killed. 

 

“Mom,” he said while his hands explored the corpse to find wounds, “It doesn’t get easier, does it?”

 

“It never does.” Kyoko opened the mouth of the body. “Have you found anything on your end?”

 

“No,” Kazuki replied. “Her clothes aren’t stained with blood either.”

 

“Check her pockets for any form of identification,” Kyoko instructed. 

 

“I know,” grumbled Kazuki. After a bit of digging around, Kazuki found a wallet inside her pants. He pulled it out, and found the victim’s school ID. “I got her name,” Kazuki announced.

 

“Very good,” praised Kyoko. “Hm, it looks like while her clothes aren’t stained, she has a single stab wound.”

 

“Perhaps the culprit changed her clothes to hide evidence,” Kazuki sighed.  He continued to look through the victim’s wallet. “Who would do such a thing to a kid?”

 

“I’ve seen worse. Much worse.” Kyoko checked the body one last time. “Hm? Kazuki, come here.”

 

Kazuki walked over and crouched to Kyoko’s side. She held the corpse’s mud-covered hand. With her thumb, Kyoko rubbed the mud away, which revealed a tattoo of a red horizontal stripe, otherwise known as Monokuma’s eye.

 

“She was a cultist?” Kazuki gasped. 

 

“The tattoo isn’t fake.”

 

“So she was killed just like the other cultists we’ve found...” 

 

“We should take caution when we go to her parents. They may be cultists too.”

 

“She was only a kid,” Kazuki mumbled. “She wasn’t born during the tragedy. Why would she be...?”

 

“Sometimes, all a person needs is a little influence.”

 

* * *

 

There was no way the victim’s parents were cultists, Kazuki thought. They sobbed in each other’s arms when he and Kyoko came to their doorstep to give them the bad news. Kazuki wanted to cry alongside them, but he kept his chin up and mimicked his mother’s blank expression. His eyes wandered around the two adults to find any sign of a Monokuma eye tattoo. Even the interior of the house that he could see looked normal. 

 

“Do you know any idea who would want her dead?” Kyoko asked. 

 

“It’s that boy’s fault!” the father snapped. “Ever since he started dating my daughter, she became someone different! She wasn’t our little girl anymore!”

 

“Tell me more about this boy.” Kyoko pulled out her pocket notebook and pen. 

 

“He seemed so nice when she brought him home to meet us,” the mother said. “But after a few months of them dating, we noticed our daughter was changing. We didn’t think too much of it, because she smiled and laughed more. But as time passed, her smile and laugh seemed sinister.”

 

“At some point in time, she started wearing gloves, and refused to take them off. Then she refused to leave her room, not even to eat. The only time she’d come out was when her boyfriend would visit.”

 

“Could we check your daughter’s bedroom?” Kyoko asked. “That way we can find information about her boyfriend.”

 

“Of course.” 

 

The parents led Kyoko and Kazuki to their daughter’s room. When the door opened, Kazuki noticed it looked like the bedroom of an average teenage girl. Nothing in the room made her look like she was brainwashed into despair. Kazuki found a journal, and flipped through the pages to find anything that might lead to her murder. He noticed after time, she began drawing Monokuma all over the pages. The last page she wrote on was for her devoted love to her boyfriend. Kazuki started to sweat when he saw the boyfriend’s name. It had to be a coincidence. 

 

“Kazuki,” Kyoko said. “I found a photograph of her. I think this boy next to her was the boyfriend.” 

 

Kazuki gulped, and made his way towards his mother. His face became pale. His entire body trembled when he saw the tall slender boy standing next to the now-dead girl. That messy black hair, chocolate eyes...and that innocent smile.

 

“Kazuki?” Kyoko called out. “Kazuki, are you feeling alright?”

 

Kazuki held his head. “N-No. I think I’m coming down with something. Can I go back to Hope’s Peak?”

 

“Strange. Usually you beg to stay when you’re sick.”

 

“This is really bad.”

 

“Then why don’t I drive you there?”

 

“No, no! The train is fine!” Kazuki sprinted out of the room, and fumbled his way out the house. He tried hard not to trip over his feet as he bolted to get back to Hope’s Peak as fast as possible. He regretted not telling his mother what was going on, but it was too late. He was already on his way back to the school. 

  
_ “I knew it!”  _ he screamed in his head.  _ “I knew, it, I knew it, I fucking knew it!” _


	9. Chapter 9

_ “Today I met a boy named Takehiko. He was pretty cute, so I went to say hello. He’s super sweet too! Maybe one day I’ll have the courage to ask him out.” _

 

_ “I asked him out and he said yes! I feel like I’m flying on clouds! Our first date is this Sunday.” _

 

_ “I’ve been dating Takehiko for two months now. We want to spend the night together, so I’m going to tell my parents I’m going to a friend’s house instead. Maybe Takehiko and I will become one tonight! I can’t wait! I love him so much!” _

 

_ “Last night I noticed Takehiko had a tattoo when he took his shirt off. It was a tattoo of Monokuma’s eye. I freaked out when I saw it. Takehiko was still sweet, and he sat down to talk to me about why he had the tattoo. He introduced me to his family.” _

 

_ “My eyes have been opened to reality. Life is boring as it is. There was a time where life was exciting, but a group of idiots somehow managed to make the world boring again. Like hell I want to live in this kind of world anymore. With Takehiko by my side, we will change the world!” _

 

_ “I’ve been initiated, and now I wear the eye on my hand. I can’t reveal myself to my parents, otherwise I’d draw attention to our movement. Damn police don’t know the truth about the world. But it’s okay. Takehiko and I will change that.” _

 

_ “DESPAIR, DESPAIR, DESPAIR, DESPAIR, DESPAIR, DESPAIR, DESPAIR, DESPAIR” _

 

_ “DESPAIR, DESPAIR, DESPAIR, DESPAIR, DESPAIR, DESPAIR, DESPAIR, DESPAIR” _

_.  _

_ “I LOVE TAKEHIKO. HE IS MY SAVING GRACE IN THIS WORLD. I WOULD DIE FOR HIM AND NEVER REGRET IT.” _

 

* * *

  
  


When Natsumi met Takehiko, she was hesitant to say her family name. But according to Natsumi, Takehiko was thrilled to hear her name. He was quick to ask Natsumi out on a date. Almost everything Takehiko did was quick. He wanted to speed up his relationship with Natsumi. He pampered her, so Natsumi never realized what was going on. One night, Takehiko attempted to force himself on her, and Natsumi was able to shove him out, and got him to leave her room. Takehiko wouldn’t leave her alone after that. After they made up, Takehiko admitted he wanted to marry Natsumi, and have children with her. Natsumi broke up with Takehiko sometime after that. After she dumped him, Takehiko became obsessive with Natsumi. Natsumi hid in Kazuki’s room, but would consistently say Takehiko is not dangerous, and that she was only hiding because he was stalking. While Natsumi was hiding, one of her club members was poisoned. That club member had suggested Natsumi break up with Takehiko. When Natsumi was asked about the student, she became pale. Whenever she was asked about Takehiko’s behavior, she’d lie. 

 

The dead girl was Takehiko’s previous girlfriend, who he had never mentioned before. Kazuki concluded that he was the one responsible for killing the poor girl, and since the way she died was like the other cultists, Takehiko had to be the one killing them. Why Takehiko killed his fellow cultists, he did not know. All that mattered to Kazuki was that he was a killer.

 

Kazuki swung his door wide open, which made Natsumi jump a foot off the bed. His heavy breathing from running so much intimidated Natsumi. She could tell whatever was about to happen was not good. Kazuki closed the door, and once the door was locked, he looked up at Natsumi. She lifted the hood of the vest over her head.

 

“You liar,” he hissed. “Takehiko Kurosawa is a despair cultist, and you knew all along!”

 

“Kazuki, you don’t understand, I-”

 

“Do you have  _ any _ idea how much danger everyone in this school is in? A despair cultist at Hope’s Peak? Why the hell would you hide that? Do you even care about anyone else but yourself?”

 

“Kazuki, please listen!”   
  


“Why should I even believe what you have to say?” Kazuki shouted, his face beet red. “All you do is lie! I don’t think you’ve ever told me the truth about anything in your entire life! You lie about having a crush on me just to make fun of me, you lie to everyone that your vision is perfect, you lie about men falling in love with you, and now you lied about Kurosawa being a dangerous murderer! I’d rather do my own investigation without your account!”

 

Frightened tears streamed down Natsumi’s cheeks. “I promise I’ll tell you the entire truth!”

 

“You’re lying right now!”

 

“No I’m not! I swear, I’m done lying! I didn’t know he was a cultist when I met him! It wasn’t until I broke up with him that I found out! I’ll tell you everything! I’ll tell you exactly how it happened!”

 

* * *

 

 

“This isn’t working out. I want to break up.”

 

“What do you mean?” 

 

Natsumi hid behind her door. Never had she experienced a break-up before, but in her heart, she knew it had to be done. She really didn’t want to break Takehiko’s heart, yet if she didn’t, she’d be in a relationship where she continuously questioned whether or not it was good for her or not. As much as Natsumi enjoyed being in a relationship with someone, she didn't want to be in a one-sided relationship.

 

“I’m not ready for the commitment you want. I never really dated anybody before, and I want to explore my options. A-And I feel like if I stay with you, and marry you, I’ll lose my friends, and my friends are really important.”

 

“Are they really your friends if they don’t support your happiness? I’m the only friend you need.”

 

“That’s not right! You’re too attached to me, and it’s creepy.”

 

“I see.”

 

“I don’t know, maybe if we see each other in the future, we can try again. For now, why not we see other people?”

 

“Is there somebody else?”

 

“Uh, um…” Natsumi hesitated before lying, “Yeah. I have a crush on another guy so that’s why I wanna break up.”

 

“Well that doesn’t matter to me, Natsumi. As long as I know you love me, I don’t mind if you have crushes on other boys.”

 

“That doesn’t make sense!” Natsumi screeched. “If I say there’s somebody else I like, then it means I don’t love you, not even like you! We’re breaking up, and that’s final!”

 

Takehiko hung his head in silence. His shoulders shook, which Natsumi assumed was from crying. Natsumi reached an arm towards him to try and console him. Takehiko swatted her hand away violently. 

 

“I suppose I have no choice but to kill this boy,” Takehiko muttered. 

 

“Kill?” Natsumi shouted. “T-Takehiko, what are you talking about?”

 

“If you really like this guy, killing is the only option. Killing him will be a symbol of my love for you! Nobody can have you except for me!”

 

“What the fuck, Takehiko?”

 

“I wonder who this new boy is? Could you give me his name, dear Natsumi? You already do so well with telling me who disagreed with our relationship, so why not tell me who this boy is?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“That Shimizu girl. She disagreed with our relationship, so I got rid of her.” Takehiko took a finger and lifted Natsumi’s chin up. “If you value your own life, you’ll tell me who this boy is. Or do I already know him? You know, I used to hear a lot of rumors about you and Kazuki Naegi. That must be it!”

 

“No! It isn’t Kazuki!”

 

“Your voice is higher, my dear. You’re lying.”

 

“There isn’t another boy! It was just an excuse to break up with you!” Natsumi grabbed the sleeve of Takehiko’s jacket. “What’s gotten into you? This isn’t the Takehiko I know! Stop doing this!” 

 

Natsumi yanked Takehiko’s jacket off. Her eyes widened when she saw a tattoo on his sleeveless shoulder. All color drained on her face when she saw the familiar Monokuma eye. 

 

“You’re a despair cultist...You only dated me because my parents were Remnants of Despair. Didn’t you? You never loved me for me!”

 

“Oh, Natsumi, my queen, you’re wrong! I’ve loved you the minute I knew you existed! I went through so much to be with you! It’s so sad how you are willing to just dump me after everything I’ve done.”

 

“You were in love with me before even meeting me? You’re fucking crazy!”

 

“Crazy in love!” Takehiko threw his arms around Natsumi, who attempted to shove him away. His arms had her locked in place. She squirmed as much as she could to loosen Takehiko's grip, but to no avail. “Natsumi, the minute I saw your face, I knew one day you and I will be king and queen of the world! It was a little bit heartbreaking to find you clinging onto hope. Perhaps all you needed was to awaken the despair in you. You could even be the next Junko Enoshima!”

 

“I’d rather die!”

 

Takehiko kissed Natsumi’s lips. “I know just the thing to succumb you to despair. I shall be back before you know it. I need to sharpen my blade.” With one more kiss, Takehiko left Natsumi’s room. Natsumi sat on the floor of her dorm room. Her entire body soaked in tears. She couldn’t believe how stupid she was for believing Takehiko loved her for her. 

 

Her phone went off multiple times, with all text messages coming from Takehiko.

 

“I LOVE YOU.” 

"WE BELONG TOGETHER. WE WERE MEANT FOR EACH OTHER."

"ANYONE WHO OPPOSES US WILL BLEED."

"IF I CANNOT HAVE YOU, NOBODY CAN."

 

Natsumi ripped the battery out of her phone, and threw it at the wall. With each knock on her door, she would jump one foot off her bed, and then hide as if she weren't there. When she didn't answer her door, she heard a tap on her window. Natsumi thought about the last message she read from Takehiko. If he couldn't have her, nobody could. She couldn't figure out if that meant he would kill any boy who gives her a passing glance, or he would kill her instead. Natsumi needed to escape her dorm room without Takehiko knowing, and where he couldn't find her. If she went to a choir club member, they may think it’s a joke and tell Takehiko. She thought about going to her parent’s, but she feared they may remove her from Hope’s Peak entirely. She also thought they’d kill Takehiko, even though they swore they’d never take away a life again. She thought perhaps she could go to Mei's house, but she didn't know her address, and was too afraid to turn her phone back on to ask her. Her only option left was Kazuki’s dorm. 

 

Not once had Natsumi shown Takehiko where Kazuki’s dorm was. With her being a first year, and Takehiko a third year, going to the second floor dorms wasn’t necessary. She determined if she stayed with Kazuki, she would be safe. Natsumi knew Kazuki would be asking her questions about Takehiko, and if he found out Takehiko was a cultist, Kazuki would sure go after him. Takehiko could kill Kazuki, and it would be her fault. She also knew Kazuki would tell his father, the headmaster, and then he’d be in danger as well. She grabbed a piece of paper, and started to sketch out her escape plan.

 

Takehiko always mentioned he’d get to bed by midnight, so she knew he wouldn’t be wandering the halls for her until the late hours. Kazuki, on the contrary, would stay up into the late hours of the night. For safe measures, she chose three o’clock to leave. She kept her electronics behind, as Kazuki may investigate them for information on Takehiko. The only things she brought were the clothes on her back, and her glasses over her eyes. 

 

She made a mad dash to Kazuki’s dorm as soon as she knew the coast was clear.

 

* * *

 

 

“I’m so sorry, Kazuki,” Natsumi wailed as she held herself. “I thought maybe if I stayed here I would be safe, a-and Takehiko could stay away from me, and, and, I didn’t know what to do! I panicked!” Natsumi began to hyperventilate, and threw herself onto Kazuki’s shoulder. “I don't wanna die! I don’t want anybody to die! I’m so sorry! You gotta believe me! I'm so scared, Kazuki!”

 

Kazuki let Natsumi cry on his shoulder for as long as she needed. When Natsumi's sobs quieted down, he lightly patted her shoulder. Natsumi looked up; her nose and cheeks were bright red, and her eyes were blotchy. 

 

“I believe you. Thank you for telling me the truth, Natsumi. Now, stay here.”

 

“Where are you going?”

 

“I’m going after Kurosawa.”

 

“No!” Natsumi screeched. “He’ll kill you! I’m begging you, stay here with me! Everything will be fine if we stay here!”

 

Kazuki shook his head. “He needs help.”

 

Natsumi’s body, weak from crying, couldn’t hold Kazuki back. He slipped out of her hold multiple times before he made it out of his room. She tried to stand up and run after him, but her knees gave out, and she fell onto the floor. She cried out Kazuki’s name in hopes that he would return.

 


	10. Chapter 10

Finding Takehiko was easy; all Kazuki had to do was walk in front of Natsumi’s dorm room, and there he was. Takehiko turned to look at Kazuki, and his face lit up. He ran towards Kazuki, which made him involuntarily flinch. That pain in Kazuki’s stomach returned stronger than ever.

 

“Oh, Naegi, perfect timing! Were you about to visit Natsumi? She hasn’t answered me in days, so I finally picked the lock to her door. I was just about to head in. Would you like to join?”

 

Kazuki shook his head. “Kurosawa, can I see your right shoulder?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“While you’re at it, could you tell me why you decided to poison Tomoko Shimizu? Please explain why you chose a slow-reacting poison, instead of something quick. You’re also under suspicion of the murders of multiple people in the despair cult. Including those is the murder of your ex girlfriend. Tell me, did you kill her so you could get to Natsumi? Why did you kill fellow cultists?”

 

Takehiko was silent during Kazuki’s questioning. His silence eventually became laugher. “Wow, you’re an amazing detective!” Takehiko shouted. “I knew it wouldn’t be long until you figured out the truth! Truly you are worthy of your name!”

 

“Takehiko Kurosawa, I’m arresting you and putting you into the Hope Rehabilitation Project.”

 

“That’s big talk coming from a dead boy.”

 

Immediately, Kazuki bolted out of the dorms. He knew Takehiko was going to go after him, so Kazuki figured he could get a head start. Luck was not in Kazuki’s favor. As he exited the dormitory, he heard glass shatter behind him. Kazuki yelped in shock, and then turned his head. Takehiko Kurosawa tumbled out of the broken window, blood tailed behind him. Takehiko pulled broken glass out of his fist, and then turned to face Kazuki. He grinned devilishly, and bolted after Kazuki.

 

Takehiko tackled Kazuki onto the ground face down. With his weight put on his back, Kazuki threw Takehiko off his back like a rider flying off a rampaging bull. Takehiko charged at Kazuki again, only for Kazuki to dodge, and punch Takehiko down to the ground. Kazuki reminded himself to thank his parents for making him learn self-defense and how to fight.

 

Takehiko got back up before Kazuki could pin him down. Kazuki noticed Takehiko pulled out a blade, and once again, he charged at Kazuki. Kazuki quickly moved out of the way before the knife could touch him. Takehiko swung the knife at Kazuki repeatedly, and Kazuki continued to dodge. However, fatigue was getting to Kazuki rather fast. Kazuki couldn’t understand why he was tiring out so quick; he practiced with his mother at least once a week.

 

Takehiko raised the knife above his head, and ran towards Kazuki again. Kazuki couldn’t run and dodge Takehiko forever. He took a gamble, and ran towards Takehiko. In one swift movement, Kazuki punched Takehiko in the stomach. Takehiko was taken aback, and dropped the knife. Kazuki stepped onto the knife and kept his ground to make sure Takehiko couldn’t get it back.

 

As Takehiko got back up from the ground, he howled in laughter. “This is the most fun I’ve had in a long time! When this is over I’ll mount your head on my wall!”

 

Kazuki clenched his fists and readied himself to endure an attack from Takehiko. He didn’t have a weapon, and if he took another step, Takehiko could get his knife back. Takehiko charged once more, and Kazuki grabbed hold of him. Kazuki’s hands grasped Takehiko’s fists, and attempted to push Takehiko back. Kazuki’s hands shook violently, and he feared they’d give out at any moment.

 

“You know,” Takehiko said, “This would be more fun if you fought back.”

 

“Kurosawa, you need help!” Kauzi shouted. “This isn’t the way to live your life! We can help you.”

 

“I just want to bring the world back to despair with the woman I love!”

 

“Natsumi doesn’t want that life! She’ll never go with you! She already decided what she wants to do with her life!”

 

“Oh you mean her impossible dream of being a singer? Naegi, you and I both know she’ll never make it big, just like you’ll never be as good of a detective as your mother.”

 

“You son of a bitch!”

 

Kazuki gripped Takehiko’s fists harder, and threw him on the ground. Kazuki knelt down to grab the knife he had stood on before he pinned Takehiko down. Kazuki straddled Takehiko’s legs, and dug his nails in Takehiko’s left wrist with his free hand. The knife’s blade faced Takehiko’s neck. As Kazuki pressed the knife against Takehiko’s neck as a warning, Takehiko howled with laughter.

 

“Go ahead, Naegi. Kill me. You want to, don’t you?”

 

“Nobody...nobody deserves to die,” Kazuki stuttered.

 

“Is that what your daddy told you? Do you really believe nobody deserves to be killed? You figured it out yourself, Naegi. I’m a killer. For centuries, the punishment for murder is death. I can’t be redeemed, Naegi. Even if I get counseling, it won’t bring back the lives I took. You want to kill me.”

 

“Shut up!”

 

“You know, Naegi, the angrier you get, the less you’ll be as good as your mother.”

 

The knife sank deeper into Takehiko’s skin, but it still hadn’t pierced his skin. Takehiko howled with laughter, and repeatedly demanded Kazuki to kill him. The hand that gripped the knife trembled. Rage fueled Kazuki, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to drive the blade right into Takehiko’s neck. Kazuki bit his lower lip, and gripped the knife harder.

 

Kazuki swore he could hear someone shouting at him to stop. Whoever it was, they were able to bring Kazuki back to his senses. If Kazuki killed Takehiko, he would be no better than Takehiko. If Takehiko died, Kazuki would regret it for the rest of his life. Takehiko continued to demand Kazuki kill him, with howls of laughter in between. Kazuki looked into Takehiko’s wild, hypnotic eyes. With a sigh, Kazuki moved the knife away.

 

“Killing you won’t solve anything,” Kazuki said, somberly.

 

Takehiko ceased his laughter. “Wrong choice, Naegi.”

 

In a flash, Takehiko snatched the knife out of Kazuki’s hand, and drove the blade into his abdomen. Kazuki’s current adrenaline rush kept him from processing the pain he was supposed to feel. Kazuki looked down. Takehiko had gotten himself out of Kazuki’s grip. Kazuki looked at the knife inside him, and then at Takehiko. Takehiko grinned a cheshire smile, and twisted the blade before yanking it out. Kazuki finally cried out in pain before his body collapsed onto Takehiko’s. Takehiko shoved Kazuki’s body off of him, and stood back up.

 

“Didn’t your mommy and daddy tell you not to let your guard down?” Takehiko chortled before he put his foot on Kazuki’s stab wound. He stepped on the wound, and Kazuki howled loud enough for the entire school to hear him.

 

“KAZUKI!”

 

Takehiko turned around to see Natsumi, standing twenty feet away. Her face had gone pale, but more noticeably, she held a bamboo sword in her hand.

 

“There you are, my queen,” Takehiko cooed.

 

“Nah-Natsumi,” Kazuki whispered between pants. “Get away…”

 

“Natsumi, my dear, what were you gonna do with that toy?” Takehiko pointed at the bamboo sword in her hand.

 

Natsumi screeched, and sprinted towards Takehiko. “You motherfucker!” She swung the sword in an attempt to strike him on the head. Takehiko, however, moved out of the way, and grabbed the tip. “Shit,” Natsumi muttered.

 

“I thought you said your mother taught you on swordplay,” said Takehiko. “Perhaps if you aimed for my legs to trip me, you may have had a chance.But now, you’ve made me mad, my dear.” First, Takehiko pulled the bamboo sword out of Natsumi’s grasp, and threw it aside. Then, takehiko swiftly removed Natsumi’s glasses, and tossed them away. “I still love you, so I’ll relieve you of seeing your fate” Takehiko flashed his bloody knife.

 

“What are you doing?” said Natsumi, panicked.

 

“It’s punishment time.”

 

With his free hand, Takehiko grabbed Natsumi’s small neck, and brought her entire body to the ground. Natsumi tried to force Takehiko’s hand off her by attempting to yank and claw at him with both her hands. Despite her efforts, Takehiko kept his grip.

 

“You shouldn’t have broken up with me, and you shouldn’t have tried to get in my way of killing Naegi. I really did want to paint the world in despair with you, Natsumi. I still love you, so I’ll make this quick, just like my last girlfriend.”

 

Tears streamed down Natsumi’s cheeks as she felt her life escape. Perhaps the only upside to losing her glasses was she couldn’t see when her life would end. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. When she expected to feel a knife through her, instead, Takehiko’s grip on her neck was gone, and she soon felt the weight of Takehiko’s entire body on top of her. Natsumi opened her eyes. She could only make out a brown and dark blue blob in front of her.

 

“Nah...Nah...Natsumi,” panted a voice Natsumi figured to be Kazuki’s. “You should have stayed in my room…”

 

“What did you do to him?” Natsumi whimpered.

 

“Hit him...with a rock...I...I think he’s unconscious.” Kazuki then fell back do his knees. He pushed his hand down on his stab wound, and screamed in pain. “Fuck it hurts!”

 

Natsumi thew Takehiko off of her, and crawled over towards Kazuki. “Where did he…” She couldn’t finish her sentence. “Shit! Fuck! This is all my fault! I gotta get help!”

 

“You can’t see…”

 

Tears flooded Natsumi’s eyes. “I’ll find my glasses! They can’t be hard to-”

 

_Crunch._

 

Both Kazuki and Natsumi looked over to that ominous noise. Takehiko, somehow conscious, had stepped on Natsumi’s glasses, which shattered them to pieces. Takehiko grinned from ear-to-ear, and laughed.

 

“Nobody is going anywhere!” Takehiko announced. “You two are going to die right here, right now, by my hands! Then when I’m done with you, I’ll slaughter headmaster Naegi, and then the rest of this pathetic excuse of an academy!”

 

Kazuki attempted to stand up, but fell immediately after realizing he had lost all feeling in his legs. He continued to try and get up, but to no avail. Natsumi could only sit on the ground, frozen in fear.

 

Takehiko was unable to take another step towards them. Instead, his body collapsed once more unto the ground. He flopped on the ground like a fish out of water for a few seconds before he became unresponsive. Behind Takehiko stood Kyoko, who held a taser in her hand.

 

“Mom!” cried Kazuki. Once more, he tried to stand up, only to fall flat on the ground. He then felt a jolt of pain once more from his stab wound. “Fuck!”

 

Kyoko ran towards Kazuki and Natsumi. She knelt down and gently lifted her son up. Kazuki’s entire body trembled. He leaned into Kyoko, who cradled him as if he were a baby again.

 

“Mom,” sobbed Kazuki. “Mom, Kurosawa-”

 

“Shh,” hushed Kyoko. “He’s unconscious.”

 

“We thought that before!” shouted Natsumi, “But he-”

 

“He was given a strong shock that is confirmed to knock anybody out. He’d have to be built like a bull to stay awake from that.” Kyoko turned her attention back to her son. She saw a large amount of blood continuing to stain his jacket.

 

“Mom, I can’t feel my legs,” said Kazuki. “Am I dying?”

 

“No, but I need you to stay awake for me.”

 

“I-I’m trying, but it’s really, really- FUCK!” Kazuki curled his body up from another jolt of pain. “Mom, I don’t want to hurt anymore.” His eyes started to droop. “I’m tired, Mom.”

 

“Stay awake,” Kyoko demanded. “There’s an ambulance coming. You need to stay awake.”

 

Kyoko’s eyes widened when she noticed the veins on Kazuki’s neck becoming more defined. She temporarily set Kazuki down to undo his jacket and undershirt so she could look at his wound. The skin where he was stabbed was tinted purple, which began to spread through his stomach.

 

“Mom, I’m really tired,” repeated Kazuki.

 

“No!” gasped Kyoko. “Now isn’t the time to be tired!” She placed her hand on Kazuki’s wound to try and keep him from bleeding out.

 

“Dad said I need my sleep…”

 

“Listen to your mother, dammit!” screamed Natsumi. “Keep your eyes open!”

 

The echoed sound of an ambulance could be heard as soon as Kazuki closed his eyes.


	11. Chapter 11

_ A baby’s cry echoed throughout the hospital room. Following the cry, were sighs of relief. A few moments after the room had calmed down, the crying baby was given to his mother, Kyoko. Being a first-time mother, Kyoko carefully cradled her son carefully. Next to Kyoko’s bed was her husband, Makoto, who wept joyfully.  _

 

_ “I can’t believe he’s finally here,” sobbed Makoto. Cautiously, he reached out, and stroked the baby’s cheek with his finger. The baby had stopped crying, but Makoto’s tears had just started. “I can’t believe I’m a dad,” Makoto looked over towards Kyoko, “and you’re a mom.” _

 

_ Kyoko looked at her newborn son with softness in her eyes. Though she didn’t look like it, Kyoko was nervous about parenting. She worried that in some way, she’d abandon her son like her father did to her. The baby boy opened his eyes, and revealed their striking purple color that matched Kyoko’s. Kyoko felt her heart beat out of rhythm. _

 

_ Kyoko said after moments of silence Kyoko said to her son, “I vow that no matter what, I will never abandon you. I will stay by your side, and nothing bad will happen to you. For as long as I live, nothing, and nobody will ever hurt you.”  _

 

_ “Wow, that was beautiful,” gasped Makoto. “He sure is lucky to have a mom like you.” _

 

_ Kyoko couldn’t take her eyes off her baby, and her baby did the same with her. “Makoto, we agreed on his name, right?” _

 

_ Makoto nodded. “Yeah! I think it suits him.” _

 

_ “Then it’s settled.” Kyoko pulled her infant son closer to her chest. “Kazuki.” _

 

* * *

 

 

“It’s okay to cry, Kyoko,” said Makoto as he held his expressionless wife in his arms. His cheeks were red and puffy from crying. “It doesn’t make you weak. Anybody would cry in this moment.” 

 

Kyoko clung to Makoto’s back. “I failed him, Makoto. I broke my vow to him.”

 

“You didn’t fail.”

 

“I promised I would protect him.” Kyoko pulled herself away from her husband, and slammed her fists against the hospital wall. “Dammit! I shouldn’t have let him go!”

 

“Kyoko, this isn’t your fault. This isn’t anybody’s fault. Kazuki’s alive. That’s all that matters.” Kyoko did not reply to her husband. “Kyoko, he just wanted to protect a friend. It’s like when you-”

 

“I had a reason to choose your life over mine!” Kyoko snapped. 

 

“I meant when you rescued me from the garbage chute…” 

 

“...Makoto, Kazuki could have died. That poison was-”

 

“He was given the cure. He’s going to be okay.” Makoto placed a hand on Kyoko’s shoulder. “I bet he’s going to wake up any time soon. I think he’d love to see us when he first wakes up.”

 

* * *

 

 

He could only see black. He could hear the sound of something beeping. Was it a heart monitor? Was he in a hospital? But why was everything black? He felt like a fool when he realized his eyes were closed. He tried to open them, but it seemed like they wanted to be shut. It was as if his eyelids told him he needed more rest. However, he needed to know where he was. With all his might, Kazuki opened his eyes.

 

The light initially blinded Kazuki. He tried to move his arm to cover his eyes, but he couldn't move or feel his arm. He heard the soft voice of his father, telling someone that he knew Kazuki would wake up. He turned to his right and saw a blob with brown hair. Next to him was another blob with purple hair. 

 

“Good morning, Kazuki,” he heard his father say. “If you’re still tired, you can rest. You’re safe now.”

 

Lazily, Kazuki nodded, and closed his eyes. The second time Kazuki woke up, he was more alert. He still couldn’t move most of his body. His sight was slightly better, and he could tell his parents were still in the room with him.

 

“What happened?” Kazuki mumbled. “Where am I?”

 

“You’re in the hospital,” replied Makoto. “Remember, you got hurt? You’re okay now. Doctors stitched up the wound, and there isn’t a drop of poison in your body.”

 

“I can’t move…”

 

“That poison temporarily paralyzed you, but you’ll be able to move again soon.”

 

“Is everyone okay?”

 

Makoto nodded. “Everybody is safe and sound.”

 

Kazuki looked over at his mother. She had her head down, and had yet to say a word to him. “Mom,” he mumbled. 

 

Quietly, Kyoko replied, “I love you, Kazuki.”

 

“I love you too, Mom.”

 

“See, Kyoko?” Makoto said cheerfully. “Everything is going to be okay from now on.”

 

* * *

 

 

Kazuki was watching television when Natsumi came into his hospital room. In her hands was a bouquet of flowers in a vase, which she put next to Kazuki’s bed. 

 

“Hey, Kazuki,” she said nervously. “How, how, how are you doing?”

 

Kazuki, now able to turn his head, looked over at Natsumi. “I can feel my face,” he replied. “Everything else, not so much.”

 

“Are you in pain?”

 

“Nah. Doctors have me on some strong painkillers. It makes my head feel funny.”

 

Natsumi’s lips curved into a small smile. “Maybe you’re high.” Natsumi pulled a chair over to the side of Kazuki’s bed so she could sit down. “Kazuki, I’m sorry I lied to you about Takehiko.”

 

“You’re a bad liar,” Kazuki muttered. “I knew you were hiding something. You should have told me right away what was going on.”

 

“I thought I could save my skin by running away from the problem. In the end, it got you hurt.”

 

“Natsumi?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“You’re not hurt, are you? I remember...Kurosawa was going to kill you too.”

 

Natsumi began to cry. “You stopped him, Kazuki. You saved my life.”

 

“Nah...you could have taken him on.”

 

“I tried, remember?”

 

“Oh yeah...where did you get a bamboo sword?”

 

“I borrowed it from a kendo club member.”

 

“Oh you know what you could have done? You could have put him in a chokehold.” Kazuki smiled. “Ahh, I wish I could see that. It’d be pretty funny.”

 

Natsumi giggled. “I think I like this drugged version of you.” 

 

Kazuki then looked at her, mouth wide open. “Whoa, you’re wearing your glasses in public. Didn’t Kurosawa break them?”

 

Natsumi looked down and grumbled, “I had a spare. I was so worried about you, that I didn’t have time to put on my contact lenses.”

 

Kazuki closed his mouth, and smiled sweetly at her. “You know, you’re really pretty when you wear your glasses.”

 

Natsumi’s face turned beet red. “Th-That’s just the medicine talking! You shouldn’t tease a girl like that!”

 

“You tease me all the time though.” Kazuki chuckled. “You are pretty, and I’m not embarrassed to say it. Maybe the medicine helps make it easy.”

 

Natsumi tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You really think I’m pretty…” Quickly, Natsumi looked around the room to find something to change the subject. She found herself looking at the show Kazuki was watching. “Oh...this is one of the movies we watched a couple night ago.”

 

“I thought it looked familiar.” Kazuki leaned his head back. “Hey, do you wanna keep sleeping in my room?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“My dorm. Do you want it until I get back? My keys are in my coat pocket over there.”

 

“Well…” hesitated Natsumi, “I guess I could.”

 

“Take good care of it,” Kazuki said with a laugh. “Hey, Natsumi, do you wanna watch this movie with me? It’s really good.”

 

Natsumi’s smile widened. “Of course.”

 

At some point during the movie, Kazuki fell asleep. Natsumi looked over at the sleeping boy. Up close, she could see the dark circles under his eyes that he desperately would try to hide. Natsumi had no idea just how bad his sleep deprivation was. She was thankful to see that Kazuki was sleeping peacefully. He deserved as much sleep as he wanted, Natsumi thought, as long as he eventually woke up.

 

Her heart pounded wildly as she kissed Kazuki’s temple. “That’s for protecting me. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

 

* * *

 

 

When Natsumi unlocked Kazuki’s dorm room, a cold chill ran down her body. The room was too quiet for her liking. After she closed the door, she turned Kazuki’s computer on, and played some of the music he had downloaded. She looked down at the makeshift bed Kazuki made for himself. He wouldn’t be sleeping in the same room as her tonight, but at least now he was sleeping on a bed. She picked up the blanket and pillow, and put it back on his bed. Exhausted from the day, Natsumi collapsed onto the bed. 

 

Tears ran down her face. As relieved as she was that nobody died, she still indirectly put Kazuki in the hospital. She feared that even though Kazuki was given an antidote for his poison, the poison could return, and he’d die before she could see him again. Even though Takehiko was arrested, she was deathly afraid of him breaking out, and finding her. Natsumi was sure she wouldn’t be able to sleep that night, however at one pint in time, she did drift off.

 

“Mmm, Kazuki…?”

 

Natsumi’s eyes were closed, but she had a feeling he was next to her, as scent of the body spray he wore spun around her head. She opened her eyes, only to find she was cuddling Kazuki’s pillow. She looked at her surroundings, and soon remembered she had stayed the night in his room. Kazuki was still in the hospital. She clutched Kazuki’s vest, which she still hadn’t taken off. 

 

“I hope you’re okay.”

 

* * *

 

 

Natsumi returned to the hospital as soon as she could. When she got to Kazuki’s room, he was being visited by his parents and little sister. Intimidated, Natsumi stepped back, and offered to come back later. 

 

“You can stay, Natsumi,” Makoto said. “We’re all here to see Kazuki.”

 

“How...How is he?” Natsumi asked. 

 

“I’m right here,” Kazuki announced. “I can answer for myself. I can move my body a little bit more now.”

 

“Remember to take it easy, Kazuki,” reminded Kyoko. “There’s no need to rush out of bed.”

 

Kazuki shook his head. “I couldn’t get up even if I wanted to. My legs still feel funny.”

 

“Hey, Natsumi, what’s in the bag you’re holding?” Kazuki’s sister, Hikari, asked.

 

Natsumi’s cheeks turned a light pink. “Oh, I stopped by the convenience store and got Kazuki a treat.”

“I see.” Makoto cleared his throat to get everybody’s attention. “Why don’t we let these two be for a bit?”

 

“But, Dad,” Hikari whined, “I wanna see Kazuki.”

 

“We’ve been with him all morning, remember? We’ll be back. Why don’t we go get lunch, and bring Kazuki carry out?”

 

“Can we get sushi?”

 

“Can you guys not pretend like I’m not in the room?” Kazuki groaned. 

 

“We’ll be back in a bit, Kazuki.” Makoto took his daughter and wife’s hand, and led them out of the room. 

 

Kazuki and Natsumi looked at one another in silence. Natsumi blushed more before she placed the bag on Kazuki’s lap. Quickly, she sat down on the chair closest to Kazuki.

 

“So, are you sober today?” Natsumi asked. “Or are you still high as a kite?”

 

Kazuki attempted to move his body to get the treat out of the bag. “I think they lowered the dosage of painkillers for me.” He looked over and saw Natsumi fumbling with the zipper on his vest. “We should probably talk about what happened.”

 

Natsumi’s stomach dropped. “Are you mad at me?”

 

Kazuki sighed. “I wish you didn’t lie to me about Kurosawa. We could have caught him efficiently.”

 

“Do you know what happened to him?”

 

Kazuki nodded. “He’s in a high-security cell.”

 

“I don’t understand… He seemed like such a nice guy. How could someone like him succumb to despair?”

 

“According to my mother, the death of his parents was the start of it all. That’s all that she said to me. I guess Kurosawa has been difficult during questioning. What matters is that he’s caught, and going to go through rehabilitation.”

 

“What matters to me is that you’re alive…”

 

Daringly, Natsumi reached out for Kazuki’s hand, and gripped it tight. Her heart beat  ran wild once she felt the warmth of his hand under her’s. She wasn’t sure why her heart was pounding or why her cheeks were warm at a single hand touch. All Natsumi wanted was to let Kazuki know how relieved she was to know he’d be okay. 

 

Kazuki blushed as he felt Natsumi’s hand on his own. He wondered if it was his hand that was shaking, or her’s. “So uh,” he began to change the subject, “I found out one of your choir club members is at this hospital too.”

 

Natsumi took her hand off Kazuki’s. “I’ll have to pay her a visit.”


	12. Chapter 12

Natsumi bowed her head to the bedridden Tomoko Shimizu. She apologized profusely as her fellow choir member waved her hands frantically to let Natsumi know that she was okay, she didn’t blame Natsumi for what happened, and that she wasn’t mad at Natsumi at all. Tomoko’s condition was better than Kazuki’s, as she had full control of her body, and would be released from the hospital in a few days. 

 

“You really don’t blame me for what happened?” Natsumi asked. 

 

Tomoko shook her head. “It’s not like you asked him to poison me.”

 

“How did he even get to you anyway?”

 

“He gave me this pastry, “ Tomoko admitted. “He said he didn’t want any bad feelings between him and the club. After I ate it, I felt sick. I thought I could sleep it off but when I woke up, I was here in the hospital.”

 

“I can’t believe he’d do something like that.” Natsumi bowed her head once more. “I’m so sorry! He’s been arrested, so he won’t hurt anyone anymore!”

 

Tomoko smiled. “I said it’s not your fault. I’m not dead, so everything is fine.”

 

“I’m glad that you and Kazuki are alive…”

* * *

 

Natsumi had wanted to visit Kazuki in the hospital before school started. Much to her surprise, her parents, Fuyuhiko and Peko, decided to tag along. Fuyuhiko had bought a bouquet of flowers that was almost as big as he was, as a get-well present. As he walked down the hallway with his family, he was grinning from ear-to-ear. Peko found it endearing that her husband was in such a good mood, but Natsumi found it unsettling. She couldn’t help but wonder if her father was up to something.

 

Fuyuhiko announced him and his family’s presence shortly before barging into Kazuki’s hospital room. Natsumi hid behind her parents as they walked further inside the room. Fuyuhiko set the flower bouquet right next to the other flowers he had received since being admitted to the hospital.

 

“There’s the man who saved my daughter’s life!” Fuyuhiko exclaimed. “How are you doing? Is the hospital staff treating you right? If they aren’t, I know a few guys who can-”

 

“Dad!” Natsumi whined. 

 

“I’m just showing my appreciation!”

 

Kazuki hesitantly spoke up, “This really isn’t a big deal. I was just-”

 

“Not a big deal?” shouted Fuyuhiko. “You saved Natsumi from that monster of a human! If it weren’t for you, she’d be dead! I knew there was something fishy about that guy. I bet you knew it too, didn’t ya?”

 

“Fuyuhiko,” said Peko, “I think you should lower your voice down. We may be bothering other people.”

 

“Nonsense! Everybody in this entire hospital should know of his accomplishments!” Fuyuhiko hung his head up high as he stood in front of Kazuki’s hospital bed. “For saving our daughter, he deserves anything his heart desires!”

 

“A-anything?” stuttered Kazuki.

 

“Yep. Anything! I’ll even do better than that! Now, I’m not big on arranged marriages. Can’t control who you love, am I right?” Fuyuhiko winked at Peko, which made her blush. “So I’ll let you know, right here, right now, that instead of arranging a marriage, you have my blessing to marry Natsumi.”

 

“Dad!” Natsumi screeched. She buried her face in her hands, and hid behind her mother as if she were a toddler. 

 

“Th-That’s very generous of you, sir!” said Kazuki. His eyes were widened, and his entire body heated up.

 

“Kazuki has a crush on another girl!” Natsumi blurted out. “S-So there’s no way he’d want to marry me!”   
  


“I’m not saying he can marry you right now. I’m talking about in the future when you two are adults.”

 

“But I just said that he-”

 

“Feelings can change over time, Natsumi. So when you two are older, and want to marry, you can! I think he would make a great husband, don’t you think, Peko?”

 

Hesitantly, Peko answered, “I suppose he would be.”

 

“Then it’s settled! You have my blessing to marry Natsumi when you’re older!”

 

“I’m gonna die of embarrassment before that could ever happen,” muttered Natsumi. “Hey, uh, we better get going if I don’t wanna be late for school!”

 

“You’re right!” agreed Fuyuhiko. “Thank you again for saving my daughter. Anything you want, you can come to me about it. We’ll see you soon!” As the family made their way out of the room, Fuyuhiko whispered to Natsumi, “You should bring his notes to him after school. Nice gestures always help to get someone to fall for you. You are gonna be coming back here after school, right?”

 

“Mom, make him stop!”

* * *

 

Kazuki found that sitting in a hospital was more boring than sitting at school. He felt his brain was decaying at Monday daytime television, and preferred he was learning. He didn’t have any of his textbooks or case files to read so time would pass. Everybody he knew was either working or in class, so social interaction came from nurses who would check up on him every so often. He attempted to try and nap, though the only time he felt sleepy was when he’d taken painkillers. Kazuki didn’t know how long he could last in this hospital, if this was how bored he would be. 

 

He looked at the clock and saw classes were now over. He hoped someone from his class would come to bring notes from today’s classes for him. Perhaps next time his family stopped by, he’d ask for his textbooks. 

 

About an hour later, there was a knock on Kazuki’s door. He called out to let the person come into his room. A rather short girl from his class walked in. Her light brown hair fell to her waist bounced as she walked in. She smiled, though nervously, as she attempted to carry books that looked like they were twice her weight. When she said hello to Kazuki, his heart jumped. He felt like it was a dream that his crush, Minako Suzuki was visiting him in the hospital. 

 

“Good afternoon, Naegi!” Minako announced. “I’m here to drop off some notes from today.”

 

“I-” Kazuki’s face heated up. Her voice was so sweet and endearing. “Thank you, Suzuki. Uh-um, feel free to sit down.”

 

“Well, I guess I have some time before I gotta get home.” Minako set the books down on a table on the floor next to Kazuki’s bed. “So how are you doing?”

 

Kazuki couldn’t look at Minako directly. To conceal his blush, his head hung low. “I...well the stab wound is healing. I’m almost able to move my legs again.”

 

“What you did was really brave.”

 

“You think so?” Kazuki looked over at his crush, surprised.

 

Minako nodded. “Yeah! I’m not sure how many people would try to take on someone like that Kurosawa guy. It was like one of those movies where the detective fights the villain and it’s action-packed, and in the end, good always triumphs over evil!”

 

Kazuki chuckled at Minako’s enthusiasm. “You must like those movies.”

 

“They’re good movies as long as the dog doesn’t die.”

 

“That reminds me, I’ve been meaning to ask. Your family breeds dogs, don’t they Suzuki?”

 

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

 

Kazuki blushed. “I-er, heard it through the grapevine.”

 

Minako giggled. “You know what I heard through the grapevine?”

 

“What’s that?”

 

“That you have a crush on me.”

 

Kazuki jerked his head to face away from Minako. He tried to deny his feelings, though his words were nothing but garbled nonsense. He couldn’t believe how obvious he was about his feelings about Minako that she knew herself!

 

“That’s why I’m here, actually.”

 

“H-Huh?”

 

“The class volunteered me to bring notes to you because you have a crush on me. Don’t try to deny it, either! Your face tells me that it’s true.”

 

“This is embarrassing,” Kazuki mumbled.

 

“Don’t be embarrassed! It’s cute.” Minako looked down at her cell phone before she spoke to Kazuki again. “I gotta get going to feed my dogs. How about I come visit you again tomorrow?”

 

“Yes!” Kazuki replied immediately. “I-I mean I’d like that.”

 

“See you tomorrow, Naegi!”

 

Minako visited Kazuki the next day, as she said she would. She returned at the same time as previous day. She carried less books than before, but she still had given Kazuki notes from the day’s lectures. Kazuki had spent the day mentally preparing himself to talk to Minako like a normal person, but once she was in the room, the continuous pep talks he gave himself had vanished. Instead of making himself look like a fool to who he believed was the most beautiful girl, he decided he’d just let her talk, and he’d listen.

 

“Security has been tighter at Hope’s Peak after what happened this weekend. I even saw the police come to interview students. There were even police dogs at the school too!”

 

Kazuki smiled at her. Anyone with eyes could tell he was smitten. “You really love dogs, Suzuki.”

 

Minako nodded. “Dogs are man’s best friend, and my dogs have been my best friends since I was a baby! My mom and dad told me when I was little, our dogs would lay down by my crib and protect me. If I cried, one of them would get my parents. I even grew up with some of the puppies born when I was! Oh! I’m talking too much about dogs, aren’t I?”

 

Kazuki shook his head. “I don’t mind.”

 

“I just worry that I talk too much about dogs. Back in elementary school there was a rumor about me that I thought I was a dog. That’s not true of course! I love dogs, but I know I’m human!”

 

Kazuki laughed. “If you were a dog, you’d be a very energetic dog.”

 

Minako blushed. “I’d probably be the dog that jumps on people and kiss their faces.”

 

“Anybody would be lucky to get a kiss from you.” Kazuki froze. “Wait, I-I mean, I, oh gosh I meant-”

 

Minako smiled slyly. “Are you trying to hint at something, Naegi?” She teasingly leaned closer towards Kazuki.

 

“I...forget what I just said, alright? It’s uh, probably the medicine talking!”

 

“You know, I don’t think I’d mind kissing you. You really are a sweet boy after all...and your crush on me is adorable. Do you wanna try kissing?” 

 

Kazuki’s heart was ready to leap out of his chest. Minako’s face was close to his, and while she was teasing him, Kazuki felt as if she were serious. Her lips puckered slightly, and Kazuki realized she couldn’t be joking. She seriously was going to kiss him, and he was not going to let this moment go to waste. Minako closed her eyes just as she was barely an inch away from Kazuki’s lips. He took a deep breath, and readied himself to close the gap between them.

 

“Ahem.”

 

Both Kazuki and Minako jumped away from one another, and looked at the entrance to see who interrupted their moment. Natsumi stood by the door, her face pale as if she’d seen a ghost. Silence flooded the room; everybody was unsure of what to say to one another. 

 

“Uh,” Natsumi uttered, “I’ll just...I’ll come back later.”

 

Natsumi had no idea why she ran. She didn’t know why she felt a mixture of fear, sadness, and anger. She had interrupted Kazuki at the perfect time and the perfect moment to make fun of him for kissing his crush. She found solace in Tomoko’s room. She sat there, her body scrunched as she retold the events that had just happened. 

 

“I dunno, Kuzuryuu,” Tomoko said. “If I walked in on two people kissing or almost kissing, I’d get embarrassed too.”

 

“It was like something out of a book,” Natsumi whined. “The image of those two are burnt in my head, and I wish I could just forget.”

 

“Suppose it could be worse. What if you walked in on them taking their clothes off?”

 

“I don’t wanna think about that!” Natsumi screeched. Her stomach churned as her brain betrayed her, and she visualized Kazuki and Minako shirtless as they held each other in their arms.

 

“Kuzuryuu, why are you so bothered about this?”

 

“Why wouldn’t I be? First I saw Kazuki almost kiss a girl and now you have me thinking about those two doing it! She was about to kiss him so she likes him back so they’re gonna start dating and then they’re going to do it and she’s gonna take his virginity!”

 

“So?”

 

Natsumi looked up at her fellow club member. “What do you mean by that?”

 

“Who cares if they do date and do it?”

 

“I do!”   
  


“Why? You keep saying how you don’t have feelings for Naegi, so why care about who he dates?”

 

“Because I-” Natsumi paused. “I don’t know.” 

* * *

 

That night Natsumi laid in bed still pondering over why she would be bothered by Kazuki dating Minako. She had known about Kazuki’s crush on Minako, and would tease Kazuki about it. Natsumi stared up at the ceiling. Her stomach still churned from walking in on the two.

 

“The last time Kazuki had a girlfriend,” Natsumi mumbled to herself, “he was a bit distant from me. Though, he may have dated that girl to prove that we weren’t dating because I’d always be close to him. I guess now that Kazuki is gonna be dating again, he won’t want to hang around me anymore.” Natsumi turned to her side and hugged the pillow Kazuki slept on. “I’ve kinda treated him like dirt the past few weeks, so I guess he’d want to stay away from me anyway.”

 

Natsumi laid there in silence for a few minutes. She thought about the time she met Kazuki. They were little at the time, so she didn’t remember every detail. She remembered to get his attention, she hit him with a toy sword. She remembered tackling him to the ground. She also remembered throwing a fit when Kazuki had to leave. She laughed at herself when she remembered how she thought you kissed someone when you tell them goodbye. 

 

She then thought about how her parents would arrange play dates with her and Kazuki, because they thought he’d be a good positive influence on her. Her parents would tell her not to get into fights at school, or else she couldn’t see Kazuki. She laughed more when she thought about how their deal actually worked.

 

She squeezed the pillow tighter when she thought about when Natsumi met Mei, and how she thought Mei would take Kazuki away from her, even though Kazuki was never hers to begin with. When Natsumi learned about Kazuki’s schoolboy crush on Mei, that’s when she started teasing him about girls. She thought the way his face would turn bright red, and how his voice would crack was funny. Looking back on it, dare she thought perhaps Kazuki was cute when flustered.

 

Then, Natsumi wondered why she stuck around Kazuki so much. The two weren’t the best of friends. Natsumi accepted she clung onto Kazuki because initially, she didn’t have anybody else to hang out with. Though now, she had her choir club members, yet she chose to spend her time with Kazuki. She annoyed and toyed with him for so long, and yet he never told her to go away. Natsumi figured perhaps he was just trying to be nice to her. 

 

Natsumi got up from the bed and walked over towards Kazuki’s computer. She looked through the photographs he kept on there. Her eyes widened slightly when she found photos of her and Kazuki. Natsumi thought perhaps Kazuki did care for her as a friend. She lingered on the photographs of the two together. Now that Kazuki would be dating, she’d be in these photos less. If Kazuki hung out with Natsumi, it would look like he was cheating on Minako. Even though the thought of him with Minako made her stomach churn, she wanted him to be happy. 

 

Tears ran down her cheek. Natsumi brushed them away with her fingers while wondering why she would be crying in the first place. Perhaps with everything that had happened, she was overemotional. The last photo of her and Kazuki was taken a few months ago. The two of them smiled at the camera. Natsumi was on her toes trying to give Kazuki bunny ears. Natsumi closed Kazuki’s laptop. 

 

“I guess those days are over…”


	13. EXTRA: Hospital Drabbles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> These are some drabbles that happen while Kazuki is in the hospital.

### When nobody is watching…

Kyoko is relieved to see her son sleeping, even if it’s in a hospital bed. She finds herself fixated on the smaller details of his face.

 

She couldn’t believe how her boy had grown up within a blink of an eye. It felt like yesterday she was at Kazuki’s beck and call when he was a baby. The moment he started crying, Kyoko was there. Whenever Kazuki couldn’t go to sleep, she’d pet his head, and sing softly (a suggestion from Makoto).

 

Kyoko looked around the hospital room. When the coast was clear, she slipped a glove off, and gently placed her hand on the top of Kazuki’s messy hair. Quietly, she sang the lullaby from when he was a baby. The sleeping Kazuki leaned his head into his mother’s touch.

 

What Kyoko didn’t know, was outside the room, Makoto was watching the whole interaction. When the room went quiet, Makoto wiped the tears off his cheeks, smiled, and walked right in.

* * *

 

### SURPRISE!

Mei poked her head through the entrance to Kazuki’s hospital room. When she saw nobody else was visiting Kazuki, she walked inside, and closed the door. Kazuki looked over, confused as to why Mei would do such a thing. 

“Hey, Mei. Why are you-?”

Mei pressed a finger to her lips and shushed him. “It’s a secret, so don’t let anyone know.”

“Know what?”

Kazuki then heard a small “mew” from inside the bag Mei had brought. His eyes widened. “Did you seriously-” Kazuki couldn’t finish his sentence before a black cat jumped out of the bag and landed in Kazuki’s lap. Kazuki howled in pain, as the cat pressed its paw against his stab wound. 

“Sorry, sorry!” gasped Mei. “Ninja doesn’t know!”

“Why did you- how did you sneak him in here?”

“He’s a quiet kitty. Some extra treats helped him stay quiet as well. I know how pets can really help people feel better, so I thought I’d bring him with me.”

After the pain died down in his abdomen, Kazuki lightly petted the purring cat. “Thanks, Mei.”

* * *

 

### I don’t understand.

“I don’t get you sometimes,” admitted Natsumi. She couldn’t look Kazuki in the eyes as she spoke. “I treated you like crap. I lied, I ignored how you felt, and before all that, I’d tease you to the point where you’d get angry.”

Natsumi lowered her head. “I just don’t understand. When I came to you and begged for help, you took me in. You gave me a shoulder to cry on. You made me feel comfortable when I was scared. You…saved my life. Any reasonable person might have let him kill me, or pushed me away when I asked for help. You didn’t. Kazuki, why didn’t you?”

The tension in the room could be cut with a knife. Silence loomed over the two as Kazuki tried to put his words together.

“Because,” he began, “I could see in your eyes how terrified you were. As for the latter, nobody deserved to be killed.”

“But,” whined Natsumi, “when I was hiding, you would get me food I like, and we had that movie night like I wanted, and you gave me a book as a gift. I don’t understand why you’d do all that for me?”

“I just,” Kazuki paused, “wanted you to be happy.”

Natsumi lowered her head further to hide the blush on her cheeks. “Th-thank you.”

* * *

 

### POCKET BATTLE

“When did you get your game here?” an excited Hikari asked her brother. She pointed at the game system in his hands. 

“Natsumi brought it,” replied Kazuki. “It’s good to make sure I can move my fingers and all that.”

In an instant, Hikari opened her cat bag, and pulled out her own game system. “Battle me!” she demanded. “It’s boring only battling Hideaki and Yuudai!”

“Kari, it’s been a really long time since I’ve played-”

“I don’t care! Battle me!”

Kazuki couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped his throat. “Alright, but go easy on me.”

“Not a chance!” Hikari smirked as she started the video game battle with her older brother. “Gimme your best shot!”

Kazuki looked at his screen in shock. “How-why is that black? Why does it sparkle?”

“I dunno. I just thought all the starters did that.”

* * *

 

### Make the memories stop

_“Natsumi…my mom said your dad is a leader of a group of bad guys…”_

_A little Natsumi turns and looks away. “You gonna stop being friends with me just like everyone else?”_

_“Well…my mom didn’t say you were in his group. You’re not bad either. My dad said to always look for the good in everyone. So, I think I wanna stay friends.”_

_Natsumi jumped onto the small boy and hugged him tight. “Let’s be friends forever, okay?”_

 

Natsumi laid in bed, wide awake. Her stomach churned at the memory that suddenly came back to her. She turned to face her computer, which was paused on a TV drama.

“I’ve been watching too many dramas again,” she groaned. Natsumi closed the laptop. “Not sure if I’d rather remember that, or seeing him almost kiss her…”

* * *

 

### I Wonder Where He Gets it From

“You know, Kazuki, you should take some credit for what you did,” said Makoto. “If Kurosawa wasn’t found, who knows what he might have tried to do.”

“I didn’t really do anything though,” Kazuki replied. “I’m sure Mom figured it out before me. I just got reckless and dove into danger head-on.”

Makoto laughed. “Without your mother around, I think the two of us would be pretty reckless.”

“I doubt it.” Kazuki looked down at his fidgeting hands. He was relieved that he could move them again. “You know, Dad.” Kazuki looked back up at Makoto. “You’re a really great person. I don’t think I’ve said it recently, but I’m glad you’re my dad.”

“Thank you, Kazuki. I mean, I try to be a good father, but I’m sure I act like any other dad out there.”

From the outside of the room, Kyoko watched her husband and son talk to one another. She couldn’t help but snicker, and shake her head. 

* * *

 

### Birth of a Hero

“-And, and then I heard about how you took a rock, and hit the guy over the head and saved Miss Kuzuryuu’s life!” Yuudai exclaimed. His arms flailed as he spoke.

“Yuudai,” said Hideaki, “you’re getting a bit loud. Tone it down a bit.”

“It’s alright,” said Kazuki. “He’s not bothering me.”

“You’re a hero, just like my mom and dad!” Yuudai was practically bouncing where he stood. 

“Where are your parents, anyway?” asked Kazuki.

“I believe they’re talking with your parents,” answered Hideaki. “Yuudai, why not go look for them?”

“Oh, alright! Bye!” With that, Yuudai dashed out of the room. 

The room was silent for a moment. After a small sigh, Hideaki spoke once again. “Kazuki. Please keep what I’m about to say between us.”

“Uh, sure what’s up?”

“I’m glad you survived. What you did was inspirational, and I look up to you and,” Hideaki chuckled, “your heroism.When I get older, I wouldn’t mind being a bit like you.”

“That’s…really thoughtful of you, Hideaki.”

“Plus…” Hideaki hesitated, “when you weren’t waking up, Hikari couldn’t stop crying. Yuudai and I had never seen her cry that much in all our years knowing her. When you woke up, she was back to her old self. I don’t…think I want to see her cry again.” Hideaki looked back at Kazuki, with determination in his eyes. “So don’t die.”

Kazuki smiled softly at the young boy. “Alright.”


	14. Chapter 14

“The doctor said I should be free to go today,” Kazuki said to Kyoko while he showed her that he could move his entire body. “I can’t wait to get out of here.”

 

“Still, you need to take things slow,” reminded Kyoko. 

 

“Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll be back to work in no time.”

 

Kyoko bit her lower lip before responding to her son. “About that. I think it may be in your best interest to take off from detective work until you’ve graduated.”

 

“What?” Kazuki shouted. “I don’t understand! What did I do wrong this time?”

 

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Kyoko affirmed. “Your father and I talked about this, and we agree you should be living your life as a teenager.”

 

“But you were a great detective at my age!”

 

“My upbringing was far different than yours.” Kyoko crossed her arms. Her eyes fixated on the leather gloves she wore. “Your father made a good point to me earlier. You should be living the life of a teenager.”

 

“How will I be as good as you if I’m not working for a year?”

 

Kyoko looked at her son. “You are a great detective as your own person. Your desire to be like me is what put you in this hospital bed. Your lack of sleep slowed your reflexes and decision- making. When you realized Kuzuryuu was in danger, instead of running off to save her on your own, you should have told me. If you had been taking your medicine every night as you’re supposed to-”

 

“I was!” Kazuki interrupted. 

 

“You  _ were _ taking your medicine, and then you became fixated on finding the truth about Kurosawa.” Kyoko paused once more. “Kazuki, your father and I also decided that once you’re discharged, you’re moving out of the dorms and coming back home.”

 

“Mom, I-”

 

“This isn’t a punishment, Kazuki. I know you moved into the dorms so you could stay up late studying. I told you long ago staying up late would do more harm than good. You should have come home after you were diagnosed with insomnia.”

 

Kazuki hung his head. “Mom, I’m sorry.”

 

Kyoko walked closer to Kazuki, and kissed the top of his head. “This will be good for you.”

 

“You do know what’s best,” Kazuki murmured. 

 

The faintest of smiles curved on Kyoko’s lips. “That’s because I’m your mother. Suppose I should leave you alone for a moment, since Kuzuryuu should be visiting you any minute now.”

 

“How do you know that?”

 

“She’s been coming at the same time every day now.”

 

Just then there was a knock on the door. Kyoko’s smile widened by half an inch when she heard Natsumi request permission to come into the room. Kyoko greeted Natsumi, and then said her goodbyes to her and Kazuki before she swiftly left the room. After she left the room, Kyoko caught sight Makoto walking her way. She placed a hand in front of her to stop Makoto from going into the room.

 

“Who is in there with him?” Makoto asked as he tried to poke his head to look.

 

“Natsumi Kuzuryuu.”

 

“Aw, you made me think it was the girl Kazuki likes.”

 

“I’ve been eavesdropping on his talks with Kuzuryuu all week. The way she talks to him has changed exponentially since he’s been here.”

 

“What do you mean?” 

 

“Just listen.”

 

Makoto kept himself hidden, but close enough so he could hear the conversation between Kazuki and Natsumi. He focused on Natsumi’s tone of voice, as suggested by Kyoko. Natsumi was talking about her day at school, though her voice seemed higher than usual. Every now and then, she’d let out a small laugh, or stumble on her words a few times. After Makoto heard enough, he backed away to talk to Kyoko once more. 

 

“You’re right,” Makoto said. “She is talking different.”

* * *

 

 

“You’re looking a lot better, by the way,” noted Natsumi after she cut herself off from what she figured was a dull conversation. “You don’t look as tired.”

 

“I sleep for most of the day,” Kazuki admitted. “I gotta say, it feels nice to close my eyes and drift off, even if it’s due to the painkillers.”

 

“You look more handsome without dark circles under your eyes anyway.” Natsumi pulled back a lock of hair behind her ear. 

 

Kazuki chuckled. “Your teasing has become really convincing as of lately. You almost made me believe you actually thought that.”

 

Natsumi felt her stomach drop. “Yeah I sure got you that time…”

 

“By the way,” Kazuki shifted his body so he was sitting up more, “I’m moving back home after I’m discharged. You could probably move to my old dorm if you don’t feel safe in yours.”

 

Natsumi nodded. “I think you’re right.”

 

“I guess a lot of things are going to change once I’m out of here,” Kazuki muttered. “Mom wants me to break from detective work until I graduate.”

 

Natsumi’s body straightened. “That’ll open up your schedule. What do you plan on doing with your free time?”

 

Kazuki’s cheeks flushed. “Well, I was thinking that I’d get the courage to ask Suzuki to go out with me.”

 

Natsumi felt like she was going to throw up. She clenched her fists tight, and her brows furrowed. “You don’t even know her that well. You only like her because she’s short and has big boobs.”

 

“I care about her personality far more than her appearance. There’s so much more to Suzuki than her looks. She’s in my class, and I know she’s really kind. She’s been visiting me every day now, so I think she’ll say yes.”

 

“But I’ve been-” Natsumi cut herself off. “Whatever.”

 

When Natsumi returned to the dorms, she couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks. She had no idea why she would even cry about Kazuki asking Minkao out. She couldn’t stop seeing Kazuki and Minkao almost kissing every time she closed her eyes. Kazuki’s declaration to ask Minako out were like knives that struck her heart. She had felt this way in the past, back when she was rejected by a boy she once liked. 

 

Over and over, Natsumi said she didn’t like Kazuki romantically. All her feelings were situational; he had saved her life, and she felt bad for him being hospitalized. She asked herself why she would ever like Kazuki, when she would always say his timidness around girls was a turn-off? She continued to tell herself that there was no way she could like Kazuki. She thought back to White Day, and how her choir members wanted her to admit she loved Kazuki. She thought about how one member told her to realize her feelings soon, or she’d be too late. 

 

At the corner of her eye she saw the book Kazuki had gifted her. Kauki had taken time out of his day to give her a gift he thought would make her smile. She placed her hand on the hardback cover, and gently grazed the letters with her fingers. Natsumi wondered what the protagonist in her story would do at a time like this. Tears dripped onto the cover. 

 

“This...This is only because I feel bad that he got hurt,” she stuttered. “It doesn’t matter that he...that he saved my life. I, I don’t like him.  He’s...he’s too good for me. Stupid Kazuki being nice and protective and considerate and good-looking and, and…”

* * *

 

 

When Kazuki returned home that evening, he lied on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He slipped the shirt off he was given before he left the hospital. Once his shirt was off, Kazuki looked down at the raised skin on his abdomen.. His fingers grazed his scar. He traced every centimeter of it solemnly. This scar was permanent, and a reminder of him almost getting killed. Kazuki wondered if the remorse he felt was the same his mother had when her hands were burnt.  

 

There was a knock on his bedroom door, so Kazuki quickly slipped a tshirt on. He opened the door, and his little sister, followed by her calico cat, Miki, waltzed right in. Kazuki wondered if everyone would barge into his room no matter where he lived. Hikari sat down on Kazuki’s bed, followed by Miki who jumped on Hikari’s lap. 

 

“Can I help you?” Kazuki asked his sister. 

 

“Did you not hear me calling for you?” Hikari asked. “I was trying to tell you that Dad wants to know what you want for dinner.”

 

“Oh. Tell him I don’t mind what he cooks, alright?”

 

“Yeah, alright. Hey, can I see your scar?”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because I wanna see it.”

 

Kazuki sighed and lifted his shirt half way so his sister could see his grotesque scar. Hikari looked at the scar closely. She reached out with a finger and poked the scar, which made Kazuki jump away from her.

 

“Does it hurt?” she asked.

 

“Yeah. You shouldn’t touch without asking me first.”

 

“Sorry.”

 

Kazuki lowered his shirt back down. “It’s gross, isn’t it?”

 

Hikari nodded. “Are you gonna be just like Mom and her scars? You know, hide it all the time?”

 

“It’s gonna be covered no matter what by whatever shirt I wear.”

 

“But what about when you go swimming? You don’t wear a shirt while swimming.”

 

Kazuki hesitated. “I...yeah I’ll wear a shirt.”

 

“So you are gonna be just like Mom.”

 

“Why shouldn’t I? This scar is gross to look at, and it’s just a reminder of how stupid I was. If I would have used my head, I would have avoided getting this thing in the first place. I scared everybody into thinking I could have died. I don’t want to be reminded of that, and I don’t want the others to be reminded of that as well. It’s just better to pretend it’s not there.”

 

“Kazuki, do you remember what Dad told us about scars? Dad said that scars are nothing to be ashamed of. Almost everybody in the world has some sort of scar. There’s burn scars like mom, stab scars like you, scars where people had surgery, and many other different scars out there! Dad also said that people shouldn’t be ashamed of their scars.”

 

“Kari, there’s no way I could not be ashamed of this-”

 

“You saved Natsumi, didn’t you? Instead of thinking of that scar as something bad, why not think of a reminder that you saved a life?”

 

Kazuki bit his lip. He averted his eyes away from HIkari before he finally responded, “Why not go help dad cook, okay?”

* * *

 

Kazuki felt like his heart wanted to jump right out of his chest. After being discharged for a few days, he felt like he was ready to ask Minako out. She had agreed to meet him after school before her club started, so Kazuki figured that was a good start. When he saw Minako leaving the main building, and making her way towards the school’s fountain, Kazuki wondered if his trembling legs were lingering paralysis effects, or nerves. 

 

As Minako got closer towards their meeting place, Kazuki tried to rehearse what he planned on saying to her. He never confessed his love to someone before, so he wasn’t exactly sure how he should go about it. Girls had confessed to him before, but he thought perhaps he had to say or do something different since he was a boy. Kazuki took deep breaths to calm him down.

When he saw Minkao smile at him, Kazuki thought he was going to faint. He analyzed her face carefully; her cheeks were flushed, and her smile, though wide, was a bit shy. 

 

“Su-Suzuki, you came!” Kazuki gasped.

 

“Of course I would,” Minako replied. “It would be rude if I stood you up.”

 

Kazuki scratched the back of his hand. “That would have been heartbreaking, I mean bad!”

 

Minako laughed softly. “You have such a boyish charm, Naegi. It’s cute.”

 

“You think so?”

 

Minako nodded. “I always thought flustered boys were cute.”

 

Kazuki bit the inside of his lip. Minako thought he was cute. He felt like it was now or never to ask her out. 

 

“Suzuki, I like you!” Kazuki blurted out. “I’ve liked you for a long time! You’re cute, funny, and you’re kind to everybody in the class! You’re everything I’ve ever wanted in a girl! I didn’t want to say anything in the past, because I thought I couldn’t be a good boyfriend since I was always busy with work! Those chocolates in your locker on White Day were from me!” Kazuki was rather surprised that the words were coming out. Though he felt his sentences were more word vomit than actual sentences. “I’m not going to be working until after I graduate, so I have a lot of free time now!” Kazuki closed his eyes and bowed his head to Minako. “Please, go out with me!” 

 

The lingering silence made Kazuki feel as if he were a fool. He wondered if he messed up his confession in a way. He was terrified to look up at Minako. When he heard Minako giggle, he couldn’t help but stand straight, and look at her. She was smiling, which made Kazuki’s heart soar. He focused on the pink dusted on her cheeks. 

 

“Silly Naegi,” she said. “Why would you wanna go out with me?”

 

“Because you’re amazing!” Kazuki blurted out. “I already told you, you’re everything I’ve ever wanted in a girl!”

 

“You really think that highly of me?”

 

Kazuki nodded. “I would never lie about that.”

 

Minako’s smile widened. “If you really feel that way, then I’d like to go out with you. You’re such a sweet boy, no girl can’t help but like you.”

 

Kazuki could have thrown Minako in his arms, and spin her around. He refrained in case she would have been creeped out by the sudden affection. He tried to hide his urge to hug and kiss her, unless she initiated contact first. Kazuki thought whatever god existed, they were looking out for him as Minako opened her arms, inviting Kazuki into a hug. Gently, Kazuki wrapped his arms around Minkao, and pulled her head to his chest. 

 

Kazuki walked Minako back to her home. He really wanted to hold her hand, but was scared to ask her. When Minako noticed how shy Kazuki was, she reached over and gripped her hand over his. When the two arrived in front of Minako’s home, Kazuki noticed how she tried to stand on her toes, and how her lips were now puckered.

 

“A-Are you sure?” asked Kazuki. “I mean we just-”

 

“I was going to kiss you when you were in the hospital,” replied Minako. “Go ahead.”

 

Kazuki bit his lower lip before he scooted his feet slightly closer to Minako. His heart beat wild as he lowered his head, shut his eyes, and closed the gap between him and Minako. The kiss was quick, but it still sent chills down Kazuki’s body. When they parted, Kazuki couldn’t stop smiling. 

 

“I’ll talk to you later, Suzuki,” he said with glee. 

 

“We’re dating now, silly. You can call me Minako.”

 

“Minako.” Kazuki’s tongue tingled when he said her name. He said her name over and over before he said his goodbye once more. “I’ll talk to you later, Minako.”

 

“Talk to you later, Kazuki.” 

 

Kazuki thought his heart would burst when he heard her sweet voice say his name. He felt like the happiest boy in the world. His first time confessing his feelings for a girl turned out successful. He would have stayed on cloud nine, if it weren’t for the sudden sharp pain in his abdomen. Kazuki touched where his new scar was, as if pressing on it would lessen the pain. He tried to not let his pain get to him all that much. Kazuki was the happiest he had been in what seemed like weeks. Perhaps, he thought, things would be better from here on out.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story continues on my tumblr blog, Kazukibou.


End file.
